What to Expect in Super Bowl 51

The Super Bowl became a major stage for advertisers in 1984, with the most famous ad of all time, Apple’s 1984 by TBWA/Chiat/Day. That ad made its mark on history for more reasons than one, but in the interest of this article, it made the Super Bowl a media event. 

The irony of that is that no Super Bowl spot to come after 1984 felt anything like it. It was a dramatic and relatively dark piece of film for a sports game, but it set a high standard for in-game ads. 

Apple's iconic 1984 ad.

And as a result, brands began using the Game as a way to make a statement in culture, against their competitors or even a broader commentary on the state of the union. In the Super Bowl, it’s natural for brands to push against whatever is going on at the time. This is the best (and only) way to forecast what you’re going to see in any given year. 

As such, people are curious to see if the political climate is going to impact this year’s Super Bowl ads, but the reality is that most of the concepts for this year’s Game were already sold in before the election was decided. Are there advertisers that were so sure Hillary was going to win that they went the female empowerment route? Possibly. But even that concept could work better now given the response to the election. 

But no brand is going to directly tie themselves to a political party. It isn’t smart business. And it’s not what marketing does. Marketing is supposed to influence or tap into culture, not take sides. 

I do think we’ll see three themes that are emblematic of the times in this year’s game.

Brands will go purple

Because the political campaigns on both sides were so aggressive and bashy, advertisers will come out with more messages of hope. From the time Clinton and Trump were the final two, it was so contentious that no matter the outcome of the election, it was clear these candidates would divide the nation. So I think we’re going to see brands turn purple. No red and blue. Sharing the sentiment that while we’ve got our differences, we’re all Americans. That’s a smart thing for a brand to do because it brings both sides together and pushes humanity forward. 

Brands will appeal to the heart of the country

Marketers do a great job of speaking to the coasts and big cities, but middle America spoke the loudest in this election. We’ll see some brands POSSIBLY echoing the sentiment shared by Dodge Ram in its 2013 Farmer spot (below) by The Richards Group. This country is clearly hurting and people want change. Marketers may go back to the simple, wholesome approach of rallying around the heart of our country.

Marketers could go back to basics

There’s so much fear among us about what the future holds, that we just witnessed the biggest protest in U.S. history. When the country needs a collective sigh of relief, it’s time to go back to the basics. A lot of love themes. A lot of comedy. Because there’s been such pressure and tension and things are getting dark, levity and humor will come into play. We may even see some of the funniest commercials ever made because we sure as hell need a laugh.  

This Super Bowl, we’ll see brands coming out and saying everything’s going to be ok. Humor will come in all forms to gain awareness and maybe, just maybe, help get America laughing again.