As you may know, I am the brainchild behind the weekly AMA Baltimore Trivia. Every Tuesday, a new trivia question is posed and folks like you get to play along. With the big NASCAR race this past weekend, Daytona 500, it is only fitting that we celebrate this ultra money-making sport with NASCAR trivia.
The 2011 Super Bowl ads were dominated by cars, TV shows, and movie trailers. Overall, I was disappointed with the quality of the commercials. It was obvious that advertising budgets have been slashed. Social media let me down, too. Only 2 commercials drove people to continue the commercial online, while a handful of brands displayed a Facebook and/or Twitter logo. I expected brands to promote their social media sites with calls to action in the commercial, much like the “Greatest Salesman in the World” from last year that drove viewers to continue viewing the story online. Chevy Cruze’s “Status” featured the new OnStar feature allowing you to check your Facebook status directly from the car. This is as good as social media got for the big show.
Most people agree that Doritos and Chrysler stole the show. Between “Pug Attack” and “The Best Part,” Doritos showed off the outskirts of humor in the first half. Trivia: Doritos was the most tweeted about brand during the Super Bowl, according to Tweet Beat. Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” featuring Eminem tugged at the heartstrings of anyone that’s been down on their luck or has gone through a hard time. I imagine that Detroit dwellers felt it the most.
Volkswagen and Chevrolet topped the charts for automakers through creativity and humor. The “Black Beetle” was a creative blend of “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” using beetles at ground level overlaid with Ram Jam’s “Black Betty” tune, introducing the new VW Beetle. “The Force” was a popular pre-Super Bowl Day ad released about a week ago and made a Twitter top tweeted brands before the big day. Chevy showed who’s boss with the Silverado “Tommy” commercial and “Misunderstanding” which debuted a Chevy Cruze at a retirement home.
Both E-Trade and Career Builder know that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is the way to go, leveraging the baby and monkeys in its commercials. The E-Trade commercial featuring the cat left the room laughing when the baby said, “I told you to get a flu shot.” Career Builder’s “Parking Lot” may have been the most satirical of the night. We’ve all been stuck between a job and a hard spot.
The Coca-Cola vs. PepsiMax showdown was evident. Each took totally different directions in messaging this year. Coca-Cola’s “Border Crossing” was my favorite of those to choose from. I thought it was funny, but others thought it was stupid. Go figure. PepsiMax won the battle this year, in my opinion. “First Date” and “Love Hurts” were a hoot! Come on ladies, how many times do you wish you could shove a bar of soap in your mans’ mouth, or attempt to throw a can of soda at him for wandering eyes? Yep, thought so. “Torpedo Cooler” was great, too!
A few more commercials worth mentioning are Bridgestone’s “Carma” featuring a beaver who chops down a tree to stop a driver from continuing on a road into raging waters, Teleflora’s “Help me Faith” demonstrating how hard it is for men to come up with something heartfelt on Valentine’s Day, and NFL.com’s “Super Bowl Celebration” which included television highlight reels of shows featuring football snacks, jersey’s and games. Another commercial liked by many was Motorola Xoom’s“Empower the People.” And I can’t leave out HomeAway.com’s“Smush” (which I didn’t care for). I totally didn’t get Best Buy’s“Ozzy vs. Bieber” commercial, either.
In case you didn’t know, there’s a big show tonight, and I’m not talking about men in tights, either! ha!
I am so excited about the commercials this year. Social media is going to play a big role in the ads, and they are expected to be better than ever. They better be with a cost of around $3.9 million a pop!
Yes, I know.. that number is usually inflated and it never reflects the rate card pricing.. which goes out the window for events like this. But it sounds good, right?
I am going to be your Super Bowl Commercial 411. I’ve got the inside scoop on when commercials are airing, pre-releases and more.
You want even more?
Okay..
Tomorrow check back here over at AMA Baltimore to get my take of the best and worst of commercials, and why I think they were a hit or flopped.
Brainzooming.com has created a #bzbowl game that allows players to collect points based on spotting traditional advertising cliche’s. This is going to be FUN.
As various Super Bowl ad cliches show up in commercials, check the items off your list and total up the points at the end of the quarter and/or game.
Prizes are optional.
Now, for the inside scoop…
Superbowl-Ads.com has released the commercial schedule. Seriously!
Take a look at what products air when, and be ready to take notes! Notice anything key about the products in slots before/after each ad spot?
Hmm..
I’ve already mentioned that social media is expected to be a big part of tonight’s ads. Here’s the skinny: Social Media Gets Legs
Oh, and don’t forget to check in on Four Square to don your Super Bowl XLV badge!
Every Monday, I post a marketing challenge in the AMA Baltimore Linkedin group. If you haven’t joined the group, c’mon over.. we don’t bite!
I’m a fence-sitter when it comes to video and using it in the marketing mix. I am not a fan of it on websites, yet I love it on Facebook and, well, YouTube of course.
Check out the rest of my opinion on this quickly-becoming-popular marking tool over on Linkedin:
