Super Bowl Ads: Celebrity Over Message.

You paid attention to the commercials during the Super Bowl, didn’t you? Most were well done. Dunkin Donuts and Doritos were entertaining. I still don’t understand Tubi, yet it became quite buzzworthy on social media for about 48 hours. So, I presume it did it’s job.  

 

One thing most of them had in common: they featured celebrities.

 

I found the idea of Ben Affleck working in Dunkin Donuts amusing. Yet would that same scenario have worked had it not featured a household name star?

 

No.

 

I suggest to you that with mega-budget ad campaigns, it’s a lot easier to place the production’s strength on the celebrity, rather than the message itself.

 

And it probably works very well.

 

But, if I were to give out an Addy to what I deemed was the best commercial of them all, it would be for the pet food, Farmer’s Dog.

 

It was a beautiful example of how a brand can enhance one’s quality of life. We follow the life of a young girl and her dog from puppy to advanced years. By the end of the commercial, the girl has grown to be a woman and has a child of her own. And her dog, who is quite old, is still there. The premise, use this dog food so your dog will live longer, and you can enjoy more years together.

 

What dog lover doesn’t want that?

 

There was no celebrity actor. The strength was the message itself.

 

Those are the kind of major budget commercials I can draw great inspiration from. It shows me there are ways to create a great story for the whole purpose of helping a client attain results. This is attainable.

 

I can’t afford Ben Affleck. To be honest, I wouldn’t know what to do with him even if I could.

 

But let’s not completely throw out celebrity productions. There’s something that we can apply here in radio.

 

Endorsements.

 

Several Summit markets have air talent doing endorsements. Most of the copy points and parameters are set forth by the client or ad agency.

 

But, on the ones where we have a bit more creative input, why not put the air talent in that “Dunkin Donuts scenario.”

 

Endorsing Publix Supermarkets? Why not go the extra mile and have the air talent follow the stock boys around with a handheld recording device. “Hey, can I play with that price gun?”

 

Do something people would not expect their favorite radio personality to do. But do it in a creative way that shows the brand’s value and usage.

 

There’s a lot to be learned from those big budget commercials.

 

Sincerely

Mike -The Reel Architect.