First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to the city of New Orleans and their Saints. The annual ritual seen by nearly 1 billion people worldwide has again lived up to its billing. In many years the commercials can take center stage versus the actual game; however, this year the game was definitely worthwhile.
This is not a sports site like some others named for popular cable channels, we won’t offer much of a critique on the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. Let’s talk advertising.
Judging by the reaction of the rest of the group I was with in attendance at the Super Bowl party in Lake Tahoe, the winner is Doritos with the anti-bark collar :
There were the traditional Go Daddy Danica Patrick ads, competing commercials from major car companies- with the notable exception of General Motors- and the freaky baby ads of E*Trade. Personally I give a very close 2nd place to the first of the E*Trade ads with the “milkaholic” Lindsey:
Luckily at Ad Age’s Super Bowl ad page and YouTube you can relive the ads, although they will probably be shown more than once in the upcoming months. Only time will tell if the actual value of the $30 million is realized, but it is another diversion for those who may not be as interested in the game.
Slate has an interesting article this week analyzing why certain understated TV ads may be effective. It looks at commercials that either have no dialogue or very little dialogue, so that the only sounds heard are ambient noise. This goes against the common thinking that the more whistles and bells in an ad, the better. In a media environment where people are fast forwarding through commercials with their Tivos and multitasking while watching TV (surfing the net or texting). In order to compete in this environment, the thinking goes, you get people’s attention by turning the volume down. It would be very interesting to see not only if this theory bears fruit for television commercials, but in the online realm as well. Can digital ads be more effective if they turn down the volume and are less image-heavy? This certainly remains to be seen.
For football fans everywhere, especially in Indiana and Louisiana, Super Bowl XLIV represents a contest between two great teams and 3 hours or more of riveting football action. For non-football fans, the Super Bowl is still something to look forward to. Some people go to the bathroom during the game and stay glued to the TV set to see the most original, most outrageous, funniest, and yes, the most expensive commercials of the year. The Super Bowl is a chance for lesser known companies to get the word out and drive traffic to a site (witness the success of GoDaddy.com), as well as a chance for established brands like Budweiser and Doritos to wow audiences each year with new, humorous ads.
It is because of the Super Bowl tradition of raucous, funny ads that I cringe at the prospect of Tim Tebow’s ad for Focus on the Family. I strongly support anyone exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, and from what I understand, the commercial will be about the Tebow family’s very personal pro-life beliefs. I respect their beliefs, but I think that the airing of such personal and potentially contentious views during what is normally a fun-filled afternoon of chips, beer, football, and funny, original advertising is simply not being done in the right context. Leave the controversy off the field, and let everyone enjoy a (relatively) controversy-free Super Bowl Sunday.
Hispanic acceptance and use of credit cards is a double edged sword. While credit can help to build financial stability, without careful study and consideration, lack of understanding and abuse can lead to financial difficulty and ruin. Still the more Hispanics embrace both credit card use and online transactions, the greater the impact they will have on consumer trends and even political dialog.
“With unemployment and the cost of living on the rise, more Latino families are turning to credit cards to make ends meet. Credit cards were once a reliable way to build a credit reputation. Today, card users rely on their credit line to pay for groceries and household emergencies, such as a trip to the hospital or auto repairs. Greater participation in mainstream credit and financial markets can set many families on the path to financial stability and middle-class life. Unfortunately, many Latino card users face serious challenges when entering the credit market.”
For myself and most of the people I know, 2010 offers a plethora of top level sporting options. Whether they are the annual events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness, Stanley Cup Playoffs and World Series or the upcoming Winter Olympics and World Cup, this year is going to require numerous hours in front of the television with some frosty malted beverages.
While this is exciting for sports fans in a year of economically squeezed ad budgets, event organizers and their sales teams are scrambling to maximize their ad revenue. Some larger sponsors such as McDonald’s, Visa, and Coca-Cola are high level participants in both the Olympics and the World Cup. However, it will take more than that to make the games a success for NBC.
The world economy, location, and weather are just among some of the challenges facing the event organizers this year. For marketers, stretching budgets for traditional large markets such as the United States, or emerging powerhouses such as Brazil or China, is quite a bit easier than for markets not considered to be as powerful such as Canada and South Africa. Additionally, the fact that both events are occurring in the same year means that many sponsors who would like to participate in both will be forced to choose.
More about the advertisers participating can be found in this article from Advertising Age. Otherwise for all of us spectators it is going to be a very exciting year. Go USA!
Remember the baby in the Super Bowl E*Trade commercials?
Well, there are plenty of other first time advertisers looking to make a splash with Super Bowl XLIV. These firms are looking to build on the success of past advertisers such as E*Trade, Go Daddy and Hulu.
An article in this week’s Wall Street Journal discusses some of those already confirmed such as Qualcomm’s Flo TV, KGB and HomeAway, replacing some of the larger companies such as FedEx and General Motors who are not currently planning to participate.
Other first time advertisers planning on joining are Time Warner’s TruTV, Electronic Arts, Boost Mobile and even a conservative Christian group, Focus on the Family, has also purchased airtime. How they will compete with the perennial big budget spots of Anheuser Busch InBev remains to be seen, but as always there is much to look forward to, both on the gridiron and in between advertisers.
According to a surprising new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, young people spend more and more of their day with various forms of media. Whether it is cell phones, computers, or TV, kids and teenagers are increasingly doing what is called “media multi-tasking”- talking on their cell while watching YouTube on their laptop and flipping channels on the TV.
It seems that, increasingly, the TV serves as a baby-sitter, especially in Black and Latino homes. The study notes that, “Black children spend nearly 6 hours and Hispanics just under 5 1/2 hours, compared to roughly 3 1/2 hours a day for White youth (in front of the TV).” And sadly, though not surprisingly, the study shows that there is a correlation between heavy media use and poor grades. From the study: “About half (47%) of heavy media users say they usually get fair or poor grades (mostly Cs or lower), compared to about a quarter (23%) of light users.” While news of kids’ increasing use of media of all forms is heartening for advertisers, especially those targeting minorities, the high number of hours spent daily with media suggests that time spent with computers and TV is time not spent studying.
As we wade through the flotsam and jetsam of economic recovery, I’m reminded of my experiences as a young person growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast, weathering real storms – hurricanes. If you live in areas frequented by storms born of the sea, you get pretty good at preparing for the worst. You board up your homes, secure your livestock and your boats, planes and automobiles, stock up on emergency supplies and hunker down. As it turns out, that is usually the easy part. After the winds die down and the waters recede the true test begins: rebuilding your life and those of you family and friends who make up your community. Unlike the clear-cut action that is required to prepare physically for a life challenging and unsettling event, the aftermath is strewn with emotional debris and danger that is hard to anticipate, much less prepare for. The same, it seems, is true of managing your way back to your “real” life in the wake of economic downturn.
The economy is showing signs of growth. For those involved in marketing, it will continue to be uncertain but more than ever market segments such as the Hispanic market and new and different thinking and approaches to reaching such obvious reservoirs of potential. It may take some hard thinking and it may take a lot of work. Most of all, it will definitely take change. Things have changed. They will continue to change. Go with it. Grow with it. It is what we humans are all about. And it is just as true in Spanish as it is in English.
Annually, Adlatina produces “Los Destacados”, an annual ranking of the top 10 marketer for 2009 for Spain and Latin America. While you can check out some of the best on Ad Latina’s site if you are a Spanish speaker, the English summary can be found on Ad Age.
Some of the top marketers and their agencies include Mama Lucchetti, Pepsico Argentina, Sky Brazil, Hyundai Brazil, VTR Chile, and Coca-Cola in Spain.
