The football game is important, but the Super Bowl is a marketing bonanza.
The Super Bowl is the year's largest television event. When you think of the Super Bowl, you might think of groups of men parked on the couch, beer in hand, abundant snacks and televisions broadcasting the big game at full volume. While the the game may be the main attraction, many people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. Advertisers and businesses also think of the Super Bowl as their big day and a lot of strategy goes into their advertisements.
Interactive Commercials
Some Super Bowl advertisements include websites and bargains to sign up for in an attempt to get more than 30 seconds' worth of their audience's attention. AIS media, an interactive advertising firm, says of 2010 Super Bowl-related web traffic, "Last year's Super Bowl advertisers saw an influx of 5-7 million visitors within a 24 hour period after their commercial aired. One of the easiest ways to make that happen is by adding your company's URL to your advertisement."
Build The Anticipation
The Super Bowl has the distinction of being an event where the commercials are sometimes more entertaining than the football game itself. Because of this, some companies hype their advertisements with "pre-advertisements." For example, marketing strategist Bobette Kyle cited AT&T's creative approach: "Anonymous mLife commercials in the days before the Super Bowl caused many to wonder, 'Just what is mLife?' Late in the game, AT&T revealed mLife as the concept of a mobile, wireless life. mLife, presumably, is prelude to a series of new AT&T products."
Good Use of Celebrities
In today's media glut, there is an overabundance of celebrities and the concept of celebrity endorsements is not a new one, but nonetheless, the right celebrity will make a commercial unforgettable. Snickers used the octogenarian icon Betty White to great effect, topping USA today's 2010 Super Bowl ad meter. The advertisement, which was funny, but not at all risque, was a marketing triumph, as USA Today reported that viewers enjoyed that commercial more than any other that night.
Sentiment and Broad Appeal
The 2010 Super Bowl demonstrated that many advertisers try to associate their products with sentimentality and nostalgia. Stuart Elliot, a writer for the New York Times, noted that many 2010 Super Bowl commercials used old and familiar celebrities and while trying to keep the tone of their commercials light: "After all, the best way to appeal to a mass audience of 100 million or so Americans is usually to fill spots with paeans to the past along with catchy music, stars, special effects, talking babies and endearing animals."
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