Jean Batthany: Social Bowl XLVIII

Jean Batthany, group creative director, SVP at DDB Chicago, considers the value of a much wider integrated campaign in addition to an ad during the expensive Super Bowl intervals.

Building suspense

Once upon a time you had to watch the big game to see the commercials. Brands tried to build anticipation by holding them back, but now they are pre-released to generate excitement, views and shares. One might say we’ve entered the day of the ‘Social Bowl’.

Why the peak under the tent? Social media allows brands to whet their appetites and can help extend the life of a much larger integrated campaign. And if last year is any indicator, brands are standing by to create content at the drop of a hat. I can’t imagine the lights will go out again but Oreo and all of its copycats are going to be ready to jump on almost anything to generate content. Talk about a slam-dunk in the dark. “No power? No Problem?” created more buzz than Oreo’s commercial did. And the Grammy for best tweet goes to Arby’s #pharrelshat.

Streams of success

We’re not waiting anymore to see who made the top ten of USA today’s Super Bowl Admeter to know who ruled the game. Real-time marketing is the crystal ball. Talk-value and buzz are the new currency. The Force VW spot is the poster child for creating pre-game buzz (streamed over 10 million times before the Super Bowl even began.)

This year an algorithm conjured up every advertising cliché in the book to push out VW’s Super Bowl teaser. Carmen Electra, babies, goats, kicks to the crotch, Abraham Lincoln… all quite reminiscent of Fed Ex Super Bowl success formula spot with Burt Reynolds from years gone by.

Finding the formula

As for the formula for ultimate Super Bowl success, some things haven’t changed: celebrities, car chases, babies, cute animals, famous songs and performers, and of course base humour. But those who have spent any time in the Super Bowl trenches know it’s a lot harder than just casting a cute kid, a lovable dog or a Clysdale to get results. With a $4 million price tag for a 30-second spot, brands are looking for big ideas, big name celebrities and big audiences 160 million viewers big.

Celeb spots

This year is no exception with names like Laurence Fishburne for KIA, Ben Kingsley for Jaguar (a SB first timer) as well as Stephen Colbert for Pistachios. Sarah McLachlan sings for Audi, U2 for Bank of America and Bob Dylan for Chobani.

But dare I say the Super Bowl has started to realise that ladies are also in the room? This is a real game-changer. According to Nielsen demographic data, 46 per cent of the Super Bowl viewing audience is now female and more women watch the game than the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys combined. Even past offender Go Daddy seems to have taken note and this year Danica Patrick brings CGI armour, a dose of self respect and girl power to this year’s commercial.

Getting social

Call to Arms from AXE is another good example of evolution. Last year, of the almost 30 million Super Bowl-related tweets that were shared: 30 per cent were about the ads and most of the sharing and posting was done by women. In fact, VW is already being criticised online for the lack of female engineers in their Wings spot. Will kicks to the crotch still get big laughs on game day? Sure, but emotionally engaging spots like Ram’s God Made a Farmer and the adorable new Puppy Love from Budweiser will set a good balance for the women in the room.

Never fear – as there is still a little mystery left for this year’s big game. We’re all curious to know what Bud Light is hiding up its sleeve with 412 actors, 58 hidden cameras, five rock stars and four celebrities, including Arnold Schwarzanegger.

Game-day gold

It will be interesting to see if Intuit, who’s promising ad time to the winner of their small business contest, will feature GoldieBlox, praised by many for their pro girl message, but highly criticised for ripping off the Beastie Boys Girls. And who will win Doritos’ Crash the Super Bowl contest this year? Also, let’s not forget the halftime show sponsored by Pepsi. May it be better than the mess they created for the Grammys.