In the United States, there is no TV event bigger than the Super Bowl. With over 100 million viewers it has 5 times as many viewers as the Oscars, 6 times as many as the Grammys, and 25 times more than the Emmys. And with Taylor Swift playing cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs, this year’s game could draw even more viewers, as you know all too well.
No other American sporting event compares. While the NBA, NHL and MLB take up to 7 games to decide a winner, the Super Bowl is a one-punch champ. If you are going to have a purposeful wardrobe malfunction (and we all know it was purposeful, Janet) do it during the Super Bowl.
The Pricetag
This year a Super Bowl spot costs $7 million for 30 seconds. At first glance that seems like a lot of Cheddar Doritos. But as a must-see TV event, advertisers line up to get in front of this massive audience. With today’s extremely fragmented media landscape, the Super Bowl represents the best, if not only way to reach a huge audience without a Jenner or a Kardashian.
Pay For Attention
Even better than the size of the Super Bowl audience is their attentiveness. The big game is the one time when viewers make a point of actively watching the commercials. In fact, there are many viewers who don’t care about football or Taylor Swift. They tune in for the commercials and because of water cooler FOMO. (Or its modern cousin, Zoom banter FOMO.) This focused attention on the ads is worth a premium.
I Like Big Budgets And I Can Not Lie
Remember, These brands have huge budgets. Most of the brands advertising in the Super Bowl have massive marketing dollars to spend. I was once in a meeting with one of my clients, a very large brand, that everyone knows, when my client’s boss walked in and announced that he had just secured her a third of a billion-dollar marketing budget. In that context, $7 million is less cost-prohibitive.
The Big Reveal
15 years ago advertisers used to save the big reveal of their spots for the Super Bowl. No sneak peeks or leaks to the media. No shares to YouTube or Facebook. (You should also know that there was a time when the Super Bowl existed but YouTube and Facebook did not.)
Today, as prices have risen, more and more advertisers are sharing their commercials ahead of time. This is a little like wearing your wedding dress before your wedding. It improves the return on your investment. But it ruins the surprise.
The Best Of The Big Game
I’m not here to spoil any surprises from the upcoming Super Bowl. I want to share 10 of my top Super Bowl commercials of all time. So let’s kick this thing off.
The Top 10 Super Bowl Commercials of All Time.
10. Coke: Mean Joe Greene
This commercial proves that a Coke tastes so good it can even make Mean Joe Green smile. I was a little boy when this commercial first appeared. I was totally jelly of the young boy in the spot. I credit this commercial with me becoming a lifelong Coke drinker.
9. EDS: Cat Herders
This hilarious spot makes a very simple point about a complex tech company. If you haven’t seen it, watch it now.
8. Monster.com : When I grow Up…
This commercial was packed with universal truths about bad jobs, and career aspirations gone sideways. Plus it was packed with classic lines like, I want to work my way up to middle management. I want to be a yes man. And I want to get paid less to do the same job.
7. Ram Trucks: God Created A Farmer
This shockingly simple spot didn’t use humor. It features a collection of simple images and still photographs and a sparse Paul Harvey narration. It was powerful. I come from a long line of farmers. So this really spoke to me.
6. McDonald’s: Showdown
You can’t help but love this spot featuring basketball’s biggest stars in the early 90s, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, playing an extreme game of horse for a burger, and bragging rights.
5. Wendy’s: Where’s The Beef
This was an amazing spot, with a killer catchphrase that caught America by storm. Wendy’s sales surged 31 percent that year.
4. Old Spice: The Man You Could Smell Like.
This was hilarious, surprisingly random, and fascinating. It made Old Spice relevant again. And we all started repeating the lines ‘I’m on a horse.’ And ‘Look at your man.’
3. Snicker’s: Betty White. (You’re not you when you’re hungry.)
I get hangry. This spot really spoke to my hunger-induced split personality. We all started referencing lines from this spot and the ensuing campaign in everyday conversation.
2. Apple: 1984
This was epic. A pivotal moment. A rebellious moment in history that set the stage for all that Apple changed. Plus it featured a hammer thrower.
Wassup? Chillin, Watching the game. Having a Bud. This spot was fun, relatable, and funny. It offered multiple catchphrases that infiltrated everyday conversation and changed the way we greeted each other for the next year.
Key Takeaway
The greatest entertainment on Super Bowl Sunday doesn’t come from the game. Or the halftime show. Or even the Puppy Bowl. It’s the commercials that provide the big bang that make the Super Bowl a Must-See cultural event.
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+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.
Adam Albrecht Blog 