Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman. Welcome to Late Night Critic.
It's been a whole week since the biggest sporting event in America, and my biggest question to you is: What do you remember more, the Super Bowl itself? Or the Super Bowl commercials?
You see this year I feel the commercials in general flopped. There are a few reasons, and I'll get to those in a minute. But overall between the lackluster game and the awkward commercials I don't know which chunk of those 5 hours shined brighter, to me. Don't get me wrong, some of the ads were brilliant, but this year that was the exception to the rule. Why did this year's collection of commercials seem so bland?
Let's start with the price for a time slot, $4 million for 30 seconds of air time (roughly $133,000 a second). While this is similar to 2013's Super Bowl time cost, it takes away from the money that can be spent on the commercial itself. Many companies can negotiate deals (on bundles and ordering early), and to most big brand companies $4 million is just petty cash. So there is probably a different reason for the lack of brilliance in the commercials this year.
It's been a whole week since the biggest sporting event in America, and my biggest question to you is: What do you remember more, the Super Bowl itself? Or the Super Bowl commercials?
You see this year I feel the commercials in general flopped. There are a few reasons, and I'll get to those in a minute. But overall between the lackluster game and the awkward commercials I don't know which chunk of those 5 hours shined brighter, to me. Don't get me wrong, some of the ads were brilliant, but this year that was the exception to the rule. Why did this year's collection of commercials seem so bland?
Let's start with the price for a time slot, $4 million for 30 seconds of air time (roughly $133,000 a second). While this is similar to 2013's Super Bowl time cost, it takes away from the money that can be spent on the commercial itself. Many companies can negotiate deals (on bundles and ordering early), and to most big brand companies $4 million is just petty cash. So there is probably a different reason for the lack of brilliance in the commercials this year.
(On a side note, I do wish a portion of the revenue generated with the $4 million time slots was given to charities or even education so that the money could be used for more than filling the pockets of the higher-ups as well as justifying the insane price-tag.)
What I think the real reason for the more processed commercials this year is, is the entire spectrum required to create an efficient use of the time bought. A company spends $4 million on the time slot, but in today's social media driven world there is much more required of a commercial. There has to be hype created before-hand, and some sort of response to consumers after the Super Bowl. Not to mention the thousands of little social media messages or "secrets" that are slipped to get consumers enticed before the big day. I think it is important to balance all of the above to ensure a successful campaign, and that is why so many companies fell-short this year.
One other problem I feel, was the amount of companies who released their advertisements the week before the Super Bowl. This lowers the hype of the release on game day, as there is nothing new to see.
However there were a few advertisements that stuck out to me throughout the game. So here is my...
Top 3 Super Bowl Commercials:
At Number 1: Budweiser "Puppy Love"
As I stated in my last post I have a dog of my own, a black lab at that. And so this advertisement had a great effect on me, as well as the people I watched the Super Bowl with. Budweiser took what worked for them last year with the Clydesdale's and added the cuteness of a puppy. Anther heart-warming commercial from Bud and another success in my book. This was an easy choice for number one.
Number 2: Chevrolet "Romance"
The first time I watched this commercial I felt like it was in slow motion, because I kept expecting something big to happen (whether it was emotional or action-based). Finally when the cow shows up at his new farm, and it all comes together I broke out in laughter, and I still enjoy this commercial. Good humor, and a message that is consistent with their target market. A good use of $8 million.
Number 3: Coke "America is Beautiful"
What I think the real reason for the more processed commercials this year is, is the entire spectrum required to create an efficient use of the time bought. A company spends $4 million on the time slot, but in today's social media driven world there is much more required of a commercial. There has to be hype created before-hand, and some sort of response to consumers after the Super Bowl. Not to mention the thousands of little social media messages or "secrets" that are slipped to get consumers enticed before the big day. I think it is important to balance all of the above to ensure a successful campaign, and that is why so many companies fell-short this year.
One other problem I feel, was the amount of companies who released their advertisements the week before the Super Bowl. This lowers the hype of the release on game day, as there is nothing new to see.
However there were a few advertisements that stuck out to me throughout the game. So here is my...
Top 3 Super Bowl Commercials:
At Number 1: Budweiser "Puppy Love"
Number 2: Chevrolet "Romance"
Number 3: Coke "America is Beautiful"
This week in Best Business Blunders: America (Based on their reactions to Coke "America is Beautiful")
This week's BBB is special. Why? Because I am frustrated with America's response to a beautiful commercial. Coke has, in recent years, promoted how America is strong through diversity and is a place of pride for all those accepting of equality for all. This is also how every American describes this great country, as they puff their chest in pride. But based on the responses in the above link, is America really a country full of acceptance and a belief in equality for all?
I think the first thing that should be mentioned is that the only true natives to this country are Native American's, whom we so forcefully stole this land from. Also, if we are to call ourselves the "Melting Pot" of the world, then we must be accepting of all peoples AND their culture. What is sad about the whole situation is the positive responses and the overall good feeling to be had from this commercial is drowned out by the negativity of a smaller minority. There were some positive responses, even some responses to those who were negative.
The only saving grace in this whole ordeal is that a good portion of those who were clearly against equality in America only made themselves look worse by using improper English (or "American" because apparently that's what we speak) and some did not even know that America the Beautiful wasn't our National Anthem. Those comments only helped to discredit their opinions from being taken seriously.
So what is the lesson learned? If you are going to complain about a commercial not being American enough, or not using enough English then at the very least speak English and know your facts. But also, if you're American, have pride in your country AND all of the people who live in it and make it great.
Thank you again for reading!
Alex Oldfield
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