WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE SUPER BOWL

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE SUPER BOWL

Many advertisers believe that you have to have an ad that is likable. They push for funny and forget about what the point of their advertisement is… to sell something. The beauty of the Big Game for advertisers is that the commercials get a lot of attention.

According to The Nielsen Company the 3 most liked ads of the Super Bowl were not even in the top 10 of the most recalled ads. Only Doritos, with 2 spots and the NFL with 1 spot were able to make the top 10 of both the most likeable and most recalled ads. Even the 2 minute long Chrysler / Eminem spot could not rattle a product recall.

Nielsen Top 10 Most-Recalled 2011 Super Bowl Ads
Brand Ad Description
1 Doritos Pug knocks down door (:30)
2 Budweiser Cowboy in Western saloon (:60)
3 Doritos Man licks cheese crumbs off of coworker’s fingers (:30)
4 Pepsi Pepsi Max — Couple on first date (:30)
5 Pepsi Pepsi Max — Soda cans shoot out of cooler (:30)
6 Snickers Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr complain while working (:30)
7 Doritos Housesitter brings grandpa back to life (:30)
8 NFL TV clips montage (:60)
9 GoDaddy.com GoDaddy.co — New spokesperson Joan Rivers (:30)
10 Budweiser Bud Light — Kitchen redesigned with a bucket of beer (:30)
Nielsen Top 10 Best-Liked 2011 Super Bowl Ads
Brand Ad Description
1 Volkswagen Passat — Little Darth Vader starts car (:30)
2 Bridgestone Beaver saves driver (:30)
3 E-Trade Baby talks next to sneezing cat (:30)
4 Doritos Man licks cheese crumbs off of coworker’s fingers (:30)
5 Doritos Housesitter brings grandpa back to life (:30)
6 Volkswagen Beetle — Beetle navigates the wild (:30)
7 NFL TV clips montage (:60)
8 Chrysler 200 — Eminem represents Detroit (:120)
9 Budweiser Bud Light — Dogs work at party (:30)
10 Audi A8 — Men break out of old luxury (:60)

Millions of dollars are spent to produce the spots and each :30 spot cost 3.1 million dollars to run.  You would think that the product might get a little more attention. And while Doritos hit a couple of home runs with likeable and recallable spots, the most memorable ads are the ones that evoke emotions other than laughter.

Just something to think about the next time you tell your ad guy you think an ad might offend someone. It might cost you money.

The most recalled spot was another Doritos spot that did not make the top 10 likable spot.  It has, at this writing just over 15.000 YouTube views. The most likable spot went to Volkswagen for it little Darth Vader starting the car. Viewers may not have recalled the product after watching it for the first time during the game, but I am sure after the 26,274,587 YouTube views, the product is more memorable. But will it sell cars? That we will have to see.