The Super Bowl gives us a chance to see the season’s two best teams go head to head as we enjoy the company of friends and family while indulging in some of our favorite eats (buffalo wings are the tradition at our house). However, many fans flock to the game to watch the other spectacle — the Super Bowl ads. With a price tag of $4.5 million, the “big game” takes on new meaning as it also provides an opportunity to see many of our biggest brands face off in a competition for the hearts and minds of the viewing public.
The Best Super Bowl Ads of 2014
It’s been a long standing tradition here to do a Monday Morning Ad Quarterback post, recapping the winners and losers in marketing’s main event. As two of the central topics on this blog are branding and social media, we’ve selected our favorite ads around this criteria. This year we’ll have selections from three judges — our Director of Social Strategy Macy Koch, Dean Westergaard (AKA – “Westergaard Classic”), and me.
Those are the rules and players. Now let’s get started. Ready? BREAK!
Nick’s Pick: GoDaddy – Puppet Master
“Anyone who’s read my past Super Bowl ad recap posts knows that I usually have a special spot reserved on my ‘Misses’ list for GoDaddy. However, this year the domain/hosting company started from scratch and spared us another year of ‘Too Hot for TV’ wardrobe malfunctions targeted at pubescent boys and decided to actually tell a story about their brand.
“More importantly, they told a story about how their brand helps people launch their dreams. People like Gwen Dean, who was featured in the ad and told her boss (and 100 million other viewers) that — thanks to the site she built via GoDaddy for her side business of making puppets — she was quitting her day job to pursue this dream full time. Not only was GoDaddy the most improved, they told a good story that could potentially offer a new beginning for their brand-building efforts. They provide incredible services to emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses. GoDaddy belongs in the dream-building business; not the Girls Gone Wild business. This ad was a big step in the right direction.”
Macy’s Pick: Esurance – #EsuranceSave30
“Esurance won the Super Bowl at the end with an ad that really gave users a reason to tweet. By having their ad run after the game, the company saved 30%, the same percent you can save by using Esurance for your insurance needs. With the money they saved, they plan to give $1.5 million to a user who tweets using #EsuranceSave30. Immediately, my Twitter stream was filled with hopefully users. And this wasn’t any random promotional hashtag either. It’s tied to a key product benefit. Seattle wasn’t the only winner tonight. Congrats Esurance marketing team — and their lucky winner!”
Dean’s Pick: Volkswagen – Wings
“Good stuff this year. Picking one is tougher than a Denver first down. Volkswagen’s ‘Wings’ commercial used a familiar movie line and injected humorous scenarios while clearly making their point about durability. Always anxious to see how brands use today’s momentum in the days to come. Also really liked Doritos ‘Time Machine’ and ‘Lone Ranger’ spots — plus Bud’s ‘Salute A Hero.'”
Honorable Mention: Newcastle Non-Ad with Anna Kendrick
We would be remiss if we didn’t note that one of the best Super Bowl ads this year from a strategic standpoint was one that didn’t air during the game itself. In fact, that was never part of the plan — a point that is made the central focus of the ad’s creative. By now you’ve probably seen the brilliant two-minute web video that Newcastle Brown Ale made featuring actress Anna Kendrick in the make-up chair talking about the Super Bowl ad that never was. It’s a hilarious send-up of celebrity culture and introduces some levity into the high-stakes game of Super Bowl advertising.
If you missed the strategy here it could be because it’s so obviously stated in the spot itself. Despite the media spotlight, Super Bowl ads aren’t an affordable option for a majority of businesses. Newcastle embraced this and created a memorable web video parodying these circumstances and released it during the same window that many brands are intentionally leaking their Super Bowl ads to maximize their exposure.
On top of all of this they had a little bit of fun continuing the conversation online well into the main event by releasing storyboard parody videos for the commercials from other advertisers using the hashtag #IfWeMadeIt. You can view them all on the Newcastle YouTube channel.
When you’re facing off against big advertisers like Budweiser, you need a Hail Mary. Newcastle’s scrappy strategy gained over 4 million views in less than a week with a unique blend of humor, newsjacking, and turning their limitations into an asset.
What Do You Think?
Those are our picks. What’s your ruling on this year’s ads? What insights have you heard around the water cooler? What’s the social buzz? Remember, you can view all of this year’s Super Bowl ads on the official AdBlitz YouTube channel.
