Stuart Elliott: Super Bowl Ad Vets vs. Rookies -- Who Will Win?

More than three dozen brands are buying commercial time on CBS during the game from Acura to Wixcom with each 30second spot said to be going for a record 5 million There is a mix of marketers that are perennial Super Bowl sponsors AnheuserBusch several automakers Coke Doritos movie studios Pepsi Snickers and those entering the Super Bowl sweepstakes for the first timeThe newcomers for 2016 include such familiar names as Amazon Buick Colgate LG PayPal Pokemon and SunTrust along with brands still wet behind the ears like Apartmentscom Persil ProClean detergent Rocket Mortgage the Quicken Loans online mortgage service and Social Finance known as SoFi a marketplace lenderEvery advertiser is taking risks If the commercial is deemed a flop or gets lost in the cacophony of Super Bowl Sunday all the time and money spent on it are wasted But a rookie gets watched more closely and many don39t survive the additional scrutinyThere is a lengthy list of Super Bowl virgins whose one time at the game was so traumatic that they never returned examples include Groupon Holiday Inn HomeAway and Just for Feet Still hope springs eternal as evidenced by the roster of novices suiting up for the 50th Ad Bowl within the Super BowlquotIt39s such a tremendous opportunity but it39s such a tremendous responsibility as wellquot said Susan Somersille Johnson Chief Marketing Officer of SunTrust which will run a commercial in the fourth quarter narrated by Gary SinesequotI39m excited and thrilledquot she added quotbut there39s no question it39s pressurequotquotIt39s a formidable bunchquot of advertisers in the lineup Johnson said quotAll the premier brands will be there and we39ll see some excellent adsquotThe SunTrust commercial which the bank worked on with the StrawberryFrog agency promotes a new initiative called the quotonUp movementquot short for quotonward and upwardquot The message Stressing out about money can result in missing out on life39s important momentsamp160quotLaunching this movement is a big deal for usquot Johnson said quotWe39re trying to inspire AmericaquotTo that end a decision was made that the commercial ought to have a quotclearly optimisticquot tone she said adding quotIt39s not a time to talk about a dismal future It39s a time to give them hopequotquotWhen doing a Super Bowl ad you need to keep the mood of the nation in mindquot said Scott Goodson founder of StrawberryFrog Because quotpeople are fearful anxious with all that is happening in the worldquot he added they quotwant to feel good and empoweredquot hence a reassuring approach quotthat anyone can achieve financial confidencequotquotWe looked at the numbersquot involved with the Super Bowl Johnson said especially quotthe reach who you reach before during and afterquot the game and there39s quotno questionquot the Super Bowl is the right venue for introducing the campaignThe idea is that quotanybody can take this journey and start enjoying their lives againquot she added by reaching a quotlevel of financial confidencequot through SunTrust39s quotfinancial fitness programquotSunTrust has released a 15second teaser for its 30second Super Bowl commercial which can be watched on the onUp website as well as on YouTube The teaser features a ticking clock and vignettes of everyday people An announcer urges quotHold your breath hold it hold itquot adding quotJoin the movement at onUpcomquotOn the other end of the spectrum from SunTrust and StrawberryFrog are brands and agencies that have been to the Super Bowl many many times Take BBDO for instance which has a reputation as a Super Bowl specialist having created down through the decades commercials for clients including FedEx Mars and PepsiCo For Super Bowl 50 BBDO is producing spots for two brands Mtn Dew Kickstart and SnickersquotYou love doing it it39s liberatingquot said David Lubars chief creative officer of BBDO Worldwide But there also are dangers in producing a poorlyreceived commercial so agencies must strive to develop quotthe big ideaquot he added which quothas to be more than just a oneoffquotLubars cited as an example a commercial that BBDO created last year for Super Bowl XLIX part of the quotYou39re not you when you39re hungryquot campaign for Snickers quotThe spot still runsquot he said which means the costs associated with it have been quotamortized over a yearquotThere are other benefits from having a popular and successful Super Bowl spot he added such as mentions and shares in social media coverage in articles like this one and reruns of the commercial in TV showsquotThe ones that really pop have great valuequot Lubars said and the ones that don39t well quotit39s almost like they never happenedquotquotIt39s either the biggest bargain ever for a clientquot he added quotor the biggest wastequotThe hoopla associated with the game each year seems to be ramping up for Super Bowl 50 and the ad aspects are no exception CBS which usually broadcasts a special called quotSuper Bowl39s Greatest Commercialsquot in the runup to the game has scheduled two of them this time One was on Tuesday and the other will be on SaturdayIt39s the quotfirst time we have three Super Bowl primetime specialsquot said George F Schweitzer President of the CBS Marketing Group the third on Friday is titled quotSuper Bowl39s Greatest Halftime ShowsquotquotPlus every night at 8 pm starting Mondayquot he added quotwe will open the network from San Francisco with a spotquot promoting the gameThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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Stuart Elliott: Super Bowl Ad Vets vs. Rookies -- Who Will Win?

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Stuart Elliott: Super Bowl Ad Vets vs. Rookies -- Who Will Win?

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