Like all marketers, we loved watching yesterday’s commercials so we can talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. There were a few surprises this year as well as some disappointments and, as integrated marketers, we are anxious to see how these companies will further their creative executions across multiple media, so we’ll be watching some of them over the next few months.
As we talked about in our earlier post on the Super Bowl Building Customer Engagement with Social Media, many advertisers are recognizing the value of customer engagement and are looking for ways to turn their buyers into brand advocates. Some are doing it with social media tie-ins. Three of the examples below (Audi, Doritos and Tide) used social media before and after the launch of their commercials to engage their customers.
Below are our choices for the best Super Bowl commercials.
Budweiser Clydesdale “Brotherhood”
Everyone’s talking about this one and we agree. The beauty of a Clydesdale, the sentiment around raising a child and preparing them for their future, and the unconditional love for those who raise us, this one touched our hearts. A nice move on Budweiser’s part since they obviously took into account the growing female audience.
Dodge Ram “The Farmer”
It was long and seemed to take the form of a mini-documentary, but its powerful message about the history of farming that eventually aligns with the tough character of the best-selling Ram truck will be talked about for a while. We especially like the cause-related marketing surrounding the Ram brand who is declaring 2013 the Year of the Farmer and who will make a donation to the Future Farmers of America (FFA) for every view of the Farmer video on their website.
Audi “Prom”
How many of us would have been brave enough to even attempt to go to the prom alone? But to be handed the keys to a ride like that—that’s quite a confidence boosting reward! We loved cheering for the underdog even if getting the girl cost him a black eye. You can’t help but to smile at the end of this one. And, as referenced above, Audi used social media to air three commercials on their Facebook page prior to the game asking its viewers to vote for the one to be shown on Sunday.
Doritos “Goat 4 Sale”
Let’s face it, goats are cute—but one who screams, now that’s just crazy funny. As in the Audi example above, Doritos also used their Facebook page and a voting process which selected this commercial for the big day.
Tide “Miracle Stain”
The tie-in to a “face of Jesus” phenomena when the face of Joe Montana shows up on a 49er fans jersey was quite creative. But add to that the surprise ending of the wife who washes the shirt and declares herself a Ravens fan is priceless. This ads relevancy to its time, place and audience gets Tide a thumbs up in our book. And we really liked their Twitter post after the game, which stated in white type on a solid black background, “We can’t get your blackout. But we can get your stains out.”
