Who really won the Super Bowl? Clue - it wasn't the Patriots

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SMART
The Super Bowl LIII

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The Super Bowl LIII
The Super Bowl LIII took place on Sunday 3rd February at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium,
between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. It was the lowest scoring
game in Super Bowl history, won 13-3 by popular favourites the Patriots. Controversy
surrounded the half-time performance of Maroon 5 after multiple celebrities reportedly
turned down the gig in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick: CBS Sport reported that 98
million people tuned in, the lowest figure since 2009.1
Suggestions prior to the game that viewership might be lower than before was not to
deter marketeers, however, with 30-second advertising spots reportedly worth $5 million.
Thanks to the prevalence of social media and digital content, the 30-second, mid-game
slot is part of a much wider marketing initiative:
“If you look at the amount of pre and post-game activity -
this is not a four-hour event, this is a (at least) three day and
in some cases, two week event.”– Andrew Robertson2
Testament to this were businesses who did not advertise during the game, but
nonetheless benefited from the surrounding discussion: Skittles’ exclusive 1500-ticket
meta musical which was put on Broadway received huge amounts of publicity3
; and
marijuana investment firm Acreage Holdings’ rejected attempt to buy an ad spot made
headlines, gained the company 400,000 YouTube views for free, and inevitably resulted
in cynicism that they ever intended to pay in the first place.4
CEO of BBDO Worldwide Andrew Robertson predicted that this year’s Super Bowl would
be a “lot more fun and a lot less purpose and politics”.5
SHAMELESSLY ENTERTAINING
Aside from a few ads such as Microsoft’s championing of disability, and Hulu’s reference
to Reagan’s 1984 campaign ad for Season Three of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, most were
light-hearted and humorous.
1 ‘Super Bowl LIII ratings slide for the third year, dipping below 100 million television viewers’. The Washington Post. 4
th
February 2019. Link.
2 Andrew Robertson. CNBC online. 1
st
February 2019. Link.
3 ‘Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical review – meta madness skewers ad land’. The Drum. 3
rd
February 2019. Link.
4 ‘Watch The Cannabis Ad That Did Air During the Super Bowl.’ Forbes. 5
th
February 2019. Link.
5 Andrew Robertson. CNBC online. 1
st
February 2019. Link.

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The Super Bowl LIII
BBDO Energy’s first Super Bowl spot for Avocados From Mexico, ‘Top Dog’, features
actress Kristin Chenoweth in a parody dog show. The film comically illustrates how far
humans will go to eat avocados and was voted the sixth funniest Super Bowl ad.6
PepsiCo is an official sponsor of NFL and this year the Super Bowl was hosted in Atlanta,
Coca Cola’s headquarters. As a result both brands had been engaging in the #colawars for
several days prior to the game: billboards with headlines like, ‘Pepsi in Atlanta. How
Refreshing’, were hung throughout the city.
In keeping with communicating their entertaining rivalry, Pepsi’s ad, ‘More Than OK’, is
written around the insight that Pepsi is often offered apologetically as a Coca Cola
substitute. Featuring actor Steve Carrell, and rappers Cardi B and Lil Jon, the latter whom
are famed for the way they say ‘OK’, the spot is a brilliant, self-deprecating but
unapologetic celebration of Pepsi.
Amazon Alexa’s ‘Not Everything Makes the Cut’, which features actor Harrison Ford, taps
into widespread apprehension around the future of artificial intelligence (AI). It clearly
resonates with consumers: according to USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter this is the
second most popular ad after the NFL’s own centenary spot.7
Interestingly, several other brands also explore fear around robots, including TurboTax,
Pringles, and Michelob Ultra, all of whom make the point that humans will have the last
laugh as AI can’t taste.
CHAMPIONING WOMEN
Last year we saw more women represented in ads and an increase in female
empowerment campaigns, which is a trend that continued this year. Andrew Robertson
predicted ahead of the game: “it’s going to be a big year for women. 47% of the audience
is normally women but this year more than a third of the celebrities are women.8
”
Furthering their brand proposition around women making the first move, dating app
Bumble partnered with tennis player Serena Williams. Williams’ voiceover which finishes,
‘so make the first move, in work, in love, and in life’, ends on an image of Bumble’s three
different product offerings: bumbledate; bumblebff; and bumblebizz. Amazon’s spot to
6 ‘Ace Metrix Releases Standout Super Bowl LIII Ads’. Ace Metrix. February 2019. Link.
7 ‘NFL commercial wins US Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter. AdAge. 4
th
February 2019. Link.
8 Andrew Robertson, quoted on CNBC online. 1
st
February 2019. Link.

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The Super Bowl LIII
launch its new TV show ‘Hanna’, which has a strong female lead, also felt relevant and
authentic to the product it was advertising.
Meanwhile beauty brand Olay also bought a spot, which they used to create a parody
horror, ‘Killer Skin’, to humorously demonstrate the effectiveness of their skincare.
This year, we saw more ads than ever respond to the reality that women are an important
Super Bowl audience.
CELEBRATING NOSTALGIA
Several brands dealt with apprehension around the future by celebrating the past and the
nostalgia it evokes. Mars’ campaign for M&Ms, ‘Bad Passengers’, launches their new M&Ms
chocolate bar. Created by BBDO New York, the ad features actress Christina Applegate
driving home the grocery store and getting steadily angrier at the arguing coming from
the back seat. Their bickering parodies that of naughty children and cleverly invokes
nostalgia from adults and recognition from parents.
M&Ms wasn’t the only brand launching a product at the Super Bowl, which as Andrew
Robertson notes is a particularly good use of the spot: “The Super Bowl is still a really
valuable property for advertisers who need band salience, they need their brands top of
mind if they’re in crowded categories or if you’re introducing a new product, trying to
create awareness for a new brand.”9
PepsiCo’s Doritos spot ‘Now It’s Hot’ launches their new flavour of Flamin’ Hot nachos.
The ad plays on nostalgia for the 90s by casting Backstreet Boys and the more recently
popular artist Chance the Rapper, the latter of whom makes the former’s old song ‘hot’.
WHO WON?
It depends on the poll you read. The ad which won the Super Bowl against the criteria of
being original, culturally relevant, communicating product/brand benefit and
memorability – is newcomer Expensify. Their campaign includes a full-length music video,
‘Expensify This’, by rapper 2 Chainz and actor Adam Scott, which doubles up as a product
demo. It also champions the sentiment that ‘you weren’t born to do expenses’ and it’s
hard to argue with that.
9 Andrew Robertson, quoted on CNBC online. 1
st
February 2019. Link.

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The Super Bowl LIII
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Sophie Meadows, Insights Manager, meadowss@bbdoknows.com
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