As Super Bowl fans cheered on the Giants to victory, marketers drummed their fingers in anticipation of what would be either an advertising success or a complete waste of $3.5 million.  But does this prime piece of advertising real-estate always provide a good return on a hefty investment?  This year’s Super Bowl ads proved to be a bit of a bore. “Advertisers this year are playing it very safe,” said Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. “They’re running spots that are clearly designed to appeal to a broad audience and not to offend.”  An ad for domain name-hosting site GoDaddy showed racecar driver Danica Patrick and fitness expert Jillian Michaels body painting a nude woman. An ad for clothing retailer H&M featured soccer star David Beckham in black-and-white in his new line of undies. And online florist Teleflora and automaker Kia both used Victoria Secret’s model Adriana Lima in their Super Bowl ads.

Even a scantily clad Adriana Lima in TeleFlora's Valentines Day ad isn't enough to turn heads

Ryan Abushinov’s blog entry (https://blogs.ubc.ca/ryanabushinov/2012/02/04/do-celebrity-endorsements-really-work/), entitled, ‘Do Celebrity Endorsements Really Work?’, questioned the power of Hollywood royalty to act as ‘opinion leaders’.  According to Abushinov, negative celebrity publicity can have a severe effect on a marketing campaign.  However, I believe that even positive celebrity can have a detrimental effect.  Celebrities have always been the ‘go-to’ method as a means of generating consumer buzz.  However, as we’ve seen with this year’s Super Bowl ads, even prominent celebrities can generate yawns.  Despite using big names such as Adriana Lima and David Beckham, many advertisers settled on using cliche plots with kids, celebs, sex and humor.

Not all cars are created equal. Only a Chevy will save you from an imminent Mayan cataclysm.

One advertisement proved to spark interest, however.  A GM ad that showed a Chevy Silverado truck surviving a 2012 Mayan end-of-the-world scenario won praise from marketing experts.  In the 30 sec spot, a Dirty Harry-like Clint Eastwood proclaimed it “Halftime in America,” a reminder of Ronald Reagan’s optimistic “Morning in America” slogan, and chronicled Detroit’s fall and rise to rally the rest of the country.   The spot “really stood out” among a heavy rotation of car commercials, said Tim Calkins, marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Perhaps it is no longer celebrity that drives consumers to the shelves – or in this case, Chevy auto dealers – but the ability for an advertising to resonate with the consumer.  The Eastwood ad generated online buzz for its emotional appeal and comments that it looked like an Obama re-election commercial from Chrysler, recipient of a taxpayer funded-bailout.  The ability for a company to relate to the experiences of the consumer through politics, want of celebrity, and even fear of an imminent doomsday is a powerful tool even amongst competition during one of the most viewed sporting events in the world.  At present, ads featuring babies, celebrities, and big musical productions seem just a little bit familiar.

Crest. Tropicana. Kellogg. L’Oreal. These are just a few of the brand names I wake up to each morning.  The problem is I rarely notice.  By the time I’ve headed out the door, I’ve come across over fifteen different brand names.  But when I’ve got an 8am class, I don’t really give a hoot whether my orange juice is Tropicana or MinuteMaid.

So what happens the next time I’m at the grocery store?  What’s stopping me from switching brands?  Truth be told, it’s a simple cost-benefit analysis.  If I don’t perceive any value-added by switching brands, what would I have to gain?

Change doesn’t come easy to the consumer.  If anything, its the fear of regret that stops us from trying out that new brand of cereal.  So how does a brand name help the consumer take the ‘leap of faith’?  Armstrong et al. describe creating a ‘relationship’ with the consumer.  What better way to start than by being ‘honest’?

Consumers often have established notions of a brand.  Take, for example, a parody logo for PlayBoy that showed what people really thought about the brand.

The logo says it all.  Or how about a logo that summarizes Disney’s overly-sweet persona?

Needless to say, these images don’t always paint a positive image…but they do capture our attention.  By understanding consumer’s ‘honest’ thoughts and conveying them through marketing, brand names are sure to turn heads.

Online job site, Careerbuilder.com decided to target post-recession employees whose jobs were at risk with this marketing campaign.

By identifying with how many employees felt – in albeit a very creative way – Careerbuilder.com was able to inspire change in the average pencil-pusher via an easy-to-use solution, their website.

Weight Watchers created a similar campaign by targeting overweight women.  By creating a very point-blank visual of how many overweight women felt about their weight, they positioned themselves as a brand where women could do something about it.

Understand, however, that the’honesty’ approach isn’t for everyone. Could you imagine a cigarette’s company’s slogan of ‘We know it’s bad for you, but…’. Other times, stating the obvious doesn’t add value to the consumer.

But for the brand that can say, “Yeah, I know what you’re going through. I know you feel,’ the response is only too positive.