Another Superbowl Sunday has come and gone…
And as always, the commercial time between plays has garnered big bucks from top American companies looking to showcase their products on a world stage (the biggest televised world stage there is) and its a phenomenon that viewers at home have started to really enjoy. It has become a competition of sorts to see who will end up on the “Best of..” lists, a good tell that your commercial has had a lasting impact.
So how do companies stand out? Some have chosen to encroach on the game itself with ads popping up on the screen during a replay or in the actual stadium. Some now even release Superbowl commercials a week or two in advance to try and be remembered. But the thread tying this all together is quite simply MONEY. These commercials are EX. PEN. SIVE.
So why write about this? With all the money flying around trying to catch my eye, oddly enough, what had the biggest impact on me as a consumer was something that cost basically nothing.
After Beyonce crushed the halftime show (another post may be in order for that), the stadium fell dark during a half hour power outage. While this happened, Oreo cookies tweeted “Power Out? No Problem” with the following photo:
The ad agency 360i and Oreo had a mission control set up during the game and were able to quickly pass the idea through the proper channels for approval. For all the money spent by other companies, this was by far the best promotional idea. It was unique, current and quite funny.
The tweet had thousands of likes and retweets within minutes. It created an online buzz like none of the real commercials were able to do.