I apologize in advance for this long post, but I didn’t want to leave out any of the commercials!
The Superbowl over the weekend showed some highly anticipated commercials. These million dollar commercials – literally – created just as much buzz as the big game itself, attracting even non-football fans. Does high exposure guarantee great results for the company?
Maybe not. AdFreak breaks down the five most debated commercials of this year’s Superbowl in this blog post.
The number five spot belongs to Chevrolet’s commercial depicting a post-apocalyptic world where Chevy Silverado drivers survive and mourn the death of their Ford driving friend. Ford claims that the data actually shows that their F-150s are the superior truck, and requested Chevrolet to pull the ad. In my opinion, Chevy didn’t cross any lines because it has evidence to back its claims in the commercial, so it shouldn’t be considered deceptive promotion.
Next is Samsung’s commercial for the Galaxy Note which was meant to poke fun at Apple fanboys, but the ad’s focus on the Note’s stylus has become a point of mockery instead. Although this seems to be negative, I feel that if Samsung really has a quality product on their hands then its merits will eventually be reflected and this exposure will become definitely beneficial for them.
In third place is Dannon’s commercial for Oikos Greek Yogurt which is not very special other than the fact that it is under fire for practically duplicating a song by John Butler Trio and ripping off an old 7-Up ad. I feel that this was very careless on Dannon’s part. If Dannon knew that their commercial was anything close to an old commercial, they should realize that the audience would be able to find that old commercial and accuse them of copying it.
The runner-up is a political campaign commercial by Pete Hoekstra accusing Senator Debbie Stabenow of her free-spending ways which are harming the American economy. The commercial shows an Asian woman thanking Senator Stabenow for pumping money into China’s economy, in her poor English pronunciation. In today’s multicultural societies, this commercial will, without a doubt, be viewed as racist and offensive to many people. This marketing strategy is obviously ineffective and sure to fail.
The winner of commercial controversies is Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” spot featuring Clint Eastwood delivering an inspirational message to rebuild America’s economy. The commercial has been charged with being corporate advertising – a re-election manifesto for President Obama. I somewhat agree with what is expressed in the blog. While watching the ad, I didn’t really feel that it had a whole lot to do with Chevrolet, but rather, the rebuilding of America and the leadership it should have in order for the rebuilding to happen.
Are these costly advertising opportunities worth it for companies? Or do they miss more than they hit? I think the lesson here is that marketing, especially when presented to large groups like for the Superbowl, must be carefully planned and carried out so that the intended message is the one that the consumer receives.