posted by Design
Whether you were watching the Super Bowl this year for the competitive game it actually was, the (finally) decent half-time show: L.U.V. Madonna (Yay World Peace!), or you were flipping back and forth to the Puppy Bowl the entire time, chances are you couldn't escape the always-anticipated commercials...that is, unless you fast-forwarded through them or already caught the majority of them online prior to the game.
Our Creative department put together some thoughts on their favorite commercials and how they played into well-integrated campaigns. Check them out below (click the subheads to watch the commercials) and let us know if you agree or disagree with our analyses.
Chrysler :: It's Halftime in America
This year, Chrysler did it again for me with its emotional branding campaign. While some of it was a bit depressing, the ad was very uplifting for the most part. Played during halftime, it was filled with a positive message about America's, and more specifically, Detroit's huge recovery during an economic crisis.
The gruff, blue-collar-sounding voice of Clint Eastwood spoke about how the game has not finished and we (the people of Detroit and America) still have the second half. Imagery was mainly of the people of Detroit living their lives intermixed with very little car footage. What was very interesting, like last year, is the ad didn't have a message about the features of their cars at all. Kinda makes me want to take out a loan on a new Dodge Challenger.
Bud Light :: Rescue Dog
While I typically find Bud Light commercials to be humorous, they're not incredibly memorable, nor do they get me interested enough in doing more beyond viewing the commercial. This year, they took a different take with a commercial featuring one ugly dog with a cool story.
The commercial featured Weego, a dog who was rescued from an animal shelter, performing one cool beer-fetching trick, which he already knew, thus earning him the spotlight for the best night of TV advertising. Bud Light even created a dedicated
Facebook tab for the dog and is donating $1 to
Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation for every like its page has. In fewer than 12 hours after the commercial premiered, the page had earned more than 17,000 likes.
Chevrolet :: Chevy Silverado "2012"
I found this commercial, otherwise known as the Chevy apocalypse ad, to be very funny, which a lot of commercials fail at accomplishing. By having high production value, the commercial provided a strong visual for its demographic. It proved that Chevy makes dependable, long-lasting trucks by showing the trucks surviving falling off bridges and buildings without a scratch.
Honda CR-V :: Matthew's Day Off
I was immediately drawn to Matthew Broderick's reprisal of Ferris Bueller in Honda's CR-V commercial. The nostalgic tie-in to an iconic movie helped create an instant connection. Honda's entire “leap list” campaign did an excellent job in creating an emotional brand response, calling upon shared interests and life goals.
Honda's integrated campaign included a
microsite in which users can watch the commercials, create their own leap lists as well as view and share other leap lists along with supporting photos and videos on the usual social media sites. They can also submit their lists to enter a juried online competition for the chance of winning a CR-V to help them fulfill their leap lists.
Best Buy :: Phone Innovators
Best Buy practiced clever simplicity in its game day ad: Choose Phone Freedom. They highlight some of the greatest mobile technology innovators of the past century, bringing faces and names to these recognizable applications ranging from instant messaging to Instagram. They even manage to bring subtle humor into the equation via the creators of Words with Friends mid-flight, sans Alec Baldwin.
The video is buried on Best Buy's website and they did post it on their Facebook page, but this campaign, unfortunately, did not seem to be integrated elsewhere.
M&M’S :: Sexy and I Know It
M&M’S hooked us again with another humorous ad (warning, full-frontal nudity). They integrated it well into
Facebook, incorporating a fangate stating that Ms. Brown doesn't accept just anybody, therefore you must like the page. They also created a
photo gallery of Ms. Brown posing all around the stadium.
The only criticism I'd give is that the first thing I did after seeing the ad was go to the M&M’S website on my iPhone, and because it was Flash-based, I wasn't able to see much.
Chevrolet Sonic :: Stunts
The Chevy Sonic commercial was fun and drove people to search for more about the "first music video" in the commercial–they would come across
the full OK Go video on YouTube.
An accompanying microsite titled "Let's Do This" boasts additional stunts, challenges and sharing of videos, photographs and stories via social media. The
microsite URL was intelligently plastered on the side of the ramp the car took off of to direct viewers to visit the site and learn more. The phrase also offered the perfect opportunity for people to start hashtagging
#letsdothis in Twitter posts right after the commercial aired.
So what were your favorite commercials? Least favorite? Did you find any to do an especially great job integrating their campaign into other media? Did any miss their opportunity to really stand out?
TAGS:
thundertech, super bowl, XLVI, ad, advertisement, commercial, 2012, best, integrated, campaign, brand, marketing, favorite, m&m, chevy, weego, chrysler, emotional, branding, apocalypse, ferris bueller, leap list, best buy, sonic, stunts, okgo
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