Super bowl commercial cost about 5 million dollars, a slight increase from last year’s 4.5 million. O yea I forgot to mention that for that price you are only getting a 30 second advertisement. So you would think that for that outrageous price super bowl commercial do wonders for companies. Don’t let me forget to mention that the super bowl is possible the biggest stage, where an advertisement has the best chance at being seen by an enormous audience. The audience is so big because you obviously have football fans all over the world, but you also have non-football fan watching the super bowl just for the commercial. So that right there should indicate that super bowl ad should make sales increase.
Researcher have studied the relationship between Ad success and sales and they don’t line up, this statistic should not be surprising to many. How many times have you seen a good commercial, but never further persuaded that product, or you just forgot about the Ad I would say almost all of us.
If the super bowl are not increasing sales, what are they for? All signs are pointing to the conclusion that they are simply an expensive vanity project for wealthy companies to increase brand favorability. They do this by creating the funniest, and most beloved ads. Let’s take Budweiser and Bud light for examples. Every super bowl we see the Clydesdales, Magic fridge, and the puppies. These ads are amazing, but have they shaken us enough to change out beverage trends? The ads seem to be made for the viewer’s enjoyment, not to sell beer.
Don’t get me wrong some ads could and do work. For example Betty White’s snickers super bowl ad, GoDaddy variety of funny commercial, and the one that everyone know is the E-trade’s annoying/funny baby. All these companies are household names now all because they used the super bowl to get their name out there and there company on the map.
BoweryJE22
I have often wondered the same thing. It is outrageous how they are able to charge people millions of dollars for a thirty second clip that may or may not even pull in customers. Great article.
I think you made a great point that it is mostly for large companies to “increase brand favorability” and this probably in turn increases their already large sales numbers.
I would agree, that the commercials are just to increase favorability among the larger companies. The hilarious Doritos commercials do not make me choose them over another brand when I am at the grocery store, I am choosing them already because I like the taste. The only thing that The Doritos commercials are doing is making us laugh and talk about them. I never thought about it like that, great article.
If you have ever taken a Dr. Powell class then you may be familiar with the word “oddvertising,” which means that a commercial is so “odd” or “wacky” that you only remember those aspects of it, but not the brand itself. I think that is a major factor as to why Superbowl commercials under-perform for companies, especially this year. The best ads are those that clearly state ‘this is the product/service’ and ‘this is what it can do for you.’ Those tend to provide the biggest bang for your buck, as proven by various statistics.
It is truly amazing how costly a 30 second add can be for companies. Thinking back, there are only a handful of commercials I remember from past super bowls. A few standout, Joe Greene’s Coca Cola Commercial is legendary and will be remembered for years to come. I think that super bowl adds are a way for big companies to get bigger, and established companies make their first big impression. There really is no place for small companies. This is why it is important to have a great marketing team if you are just starting up a company. A good marketing team will make the most out of simple and cheap marketing opportunities.