FACULTY MEMBER FEATURED : CHARLES R. TAYLOR (MARKETING) DATE: FEB. 3, 2011 MEDIA OUTLET: FORBES AUTHOR: ELAINE WONG
The Super Bowl Ads You Can't Miss Super Bowl advertisers are gearing up for an onslaught of commercials this Sunday. With so many of them, which ones should you look out for, and why? Actually, all of them. Just kidding, but there will be some great spots. Super Bowl advertising is a highly anticipated phenomenon where millions of Americans gather not just to watch the game but also the commercials. (This year's championship, the 45th, pits the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers.) In fact, a recent report by Lightspeed Research, a unit of ad holding company WPP, found that a majority of Super Bowl viewers plan to tune in more for laugh-out-loud than competitive fun this year.
In Pictures: 10 Super Bowl Commercials You Can't Miss The popular deals site Groupon will be making its first Super Bowl appearance, as will well-known brands like Mercedes Benz and BMW, which hasn't bought a spot in the game in a decade. Returning advertisers, too, are putting more money in the spectacle, which is, after all, the most-watched U.S. sporting event. PepsiCo, for instance, has upped the prize money in its consumer-generated contest to $5 million, if commercials for its Doritos and Pepsi Max brands sweep the popular vote. Most spots air for only 30 or 60 seconds (of course, you can play them back on social media sites), and there will be a heavy lineup of marketers ranging from Volkwagen, which is going with a Star Wars-like commercial, to GoDaddy.com, which has tapped Nascar sensation Danica Patrick once again. So how do you keep tabs on which commercials are worthy of water cooler, Facebook or Twitter talk? Forbes interviewed a panel of judges, from creative directors at ad agencies to marketing professors to former chief marketing officers, for their top picks. Participants in this year's judging round are not currently involved in producing or consulting for any Super Bowl work. For Jeffrey Hayzlett, former chief marketing officer of Eastman Kodak, there are the obvious perennial favorites, including Anheuser-Busch's spots for its Budweiser brand, which have traditionally featured its Clydesdale horses. The Scottish steeds will be back in the game again this year, as confirmed by a sneak peek titled "Wild West," which the company released during the NFC and AFC title games last week. "I think we'll see another classic lineup from them," says Hayzlett, who during his tenure at Eastman Kodak was often urged by his team to run a Super Bowl commercial. "They've positioned themselves as an institution around the event." (Anheuser-Busch has advertised in the Super Bowl for 23 years straight, with privileges as the game's "exclusive malt beverage category" marketer.)
2011 Media Report Villanova School of Business Page 21