The Super Bowl has been America’s most viewed television broadcast, with an average of 111 million spectators each year, and has also become one of the most watched sports events in the world. Because of this, big companies vie for a spot in the commercials that air during the game. It has even turned into what appears to be a social phenomenon, as many viewers tune in just to watch and judge these advertisements. Corporations, such as Doritos, Mercedes-Benz, and Samsung pay around $4 million for 30 seconds worth of an ad in order to market their products to the large audience.
So, who won the Super Bowl marketing war? Personally, my favourite was the Budweiser’s Clydesdales commercial:

While the most favoured advertisement may be up for debate, many agree that Oreo takes the award for quickest, wittiest, and most responsive. With consumers constantly on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, firms must do more than the traditional commercial to catch the attention of these people. The sudden, unexpected power outage during the third quarter, that caused the audience to wait in darkness for more than half an hour, ended up being skilfully taken advantage of by Oreo’s social media team. Only a few minutes after the shortage occurred, the company released this simple, yet effective, picture on its Twitter:

Photo credits to Wired.com.

With 15,000 retweets and 20,000 Facebook likes, Oreo successfully got their brand out to its consumers. This has shown the importance of social media in today’s marketing strategies, and the abundant interaction between consumers and the web. If firms wish to keep a competitive advantage, they must not concentrate only on the typical channels of promotion, but more responsive and interactive ones as well. Although the profits associated with this particular move may not be measurable, the benefits brought to the brand and its image are undeniable.