There is only one time a year that people intentionally want to see or hear ads and actually enjoy doing so. It’s coming up this weekend, Super Bowl LIII. In some ways, the ads have become nearly as exciting as the game.
Why is there so much interest in the “Super Bowl Ads”? Because the ads are GOOD, and some are even GREAT! And, when someone misses and creates a BAD ad, as they do from time to time, well, that creates conversation as well.
The price of a 30-second ad this year is reported to be north of $5.3 million, and that doesn’t include the cost to produce the ad, which averages well over $1 million dollars. You’ll also notice that nearly half of the ads aired are 60-second ads. There is a reason for that.
The ads that are classified as Good to Great have two things in common: 1) They tell a story and 2} they are different, in a good way. These ads will capture the hearts and minds of consumers. They aren’t about price and items, or about special deals or offers. Super Bowl ads are nearly always branding ads; ads that are designed to touch their prospective customers’ hearts and heads with emotions, all with the goal of making them feel good about purchasing and using their products.
In our Eight Lessons Learned from Super Bowl Ads, lesson number one is “Don’t be afraid to be edgy”. Advertising expert Roy Williams says, “In marketing, you must choose between shouting, boredom, and seduction. Which do you want?” Roy goes on to suggest that, “The risk of insult is the price of clarity”.