The Top 3 Super Bowl Ads That Did Marketing Right

As fans around the country head to the supermarket to stock up on wings and chips in preparation for the Super Bowl, businesses will enjoy a welcome surge after a post holiday lull. Over 100 million people get together in living rooms across the country to cheer on their team or hope for revenge on the team that eliminated them. And while most are fixated on the battle between the two teams on the field, a battle of no lesser intensity occurs every year between colossal brands for the airtime between play. The Super Bowl Commercials and the superlative price tags associated with the coveted 30 second spot  have become the stuff of legend and created countless iconic moments in pop culture. Here, we outline three that stand above the rest for their ability to give a master class in marketing.

McDonalds: “The Showdown”. Although many people automatically think of Nike when they hear Michael Jordan’s name, his most memorable appearance on the screen during the Super Bowl actually saw him compete head to head against fellow basketball legend Larry Bird over a Big Mac and fries. What was so special about this commercial?

1. Despite being associated with low cost, fast food, the ad portrays the image that a Big Mac is worth fighting over. It’s not about the cost, it’s about the satisfaction you get from each burger. It plays off how irresistible it is to head to McDonalds when you see somebody show up with that glorious bag and the crispy fries. That call to emotion is a powerful marketing tool on which McDonalds has capitalized beautifully time and again.
2. Michael Jordan was larger than life in the 90’s and has cemented his place in history as one of the most memorable athletes of all time. The key word there is athlete. If you sell a product that doesn’t exactly rank highly on most nutritionist’s list of recommended foods, you should probably consider marketing the experience of the meal. And what better way to draw attention away from the nutrition of the meal and towards the experience than to show a famous athlete, at the peak of his career with his lunch in a paper bag with the Golden Arches on it?

Budweiser: “Best Buds” spot: What did they do right?

1. It was subtle. Few companies have the charisma to run an ad that doesn’t display their actual product or name until the final few seconds. Fewer still would attempt such a feat during the most expensive airtime in television. And of those few perhaps none could pull it off with the level of class that Anheuser Busch achieved. The Clydesdales, so easily associable with Budweiser, are emblematic of everything the brand wants to represent, an elegant nod to simpler times. This shows a clear understanding that great marketing isn’t about selling a product, it’s about selling an image/experience.
2. It was entertaining to a wide audience, without directly marketing to all. While their target market is clearly adults over 21 years of age, they understood that viewers were watching the game with their families, so the ad needed to be something wholesome that people of all ages could appreciate. And appreciate they did. The commercial was the most shared of the year, perfectly leveraging the power of social media and YouTube, and has set the bar for competitors in years to come.

Coca Cola: Mean Joe Green. Possibly one of the most iconic commercials of all time, maintaining its legendary status to this day despite having been originally aired decades before the explosion of social media and YouTube. What makes it so memorable?

1. Long before the days of social media influencers, Coca Cola saw the value in associating themselves with well known celebrities and sports stars of the day. Teaming up with an icon from the team that would go on to win that year? A marketing story made in heaven.
2. Have a Coke and a smile. The ad beautifully portrayed the emotion Coca Cola wants to consumers to relate with drinking their product. It creates that link between sharing a Coke with somebody and memorable moments in your life. And given the ubiquity of Coca Cola products, it is hard for people to think of a special event in their life where Coke wouldn’t have been served. That’s why Coca Cola has consistently ranked among the top global brands, year after year and maintains dominant market share in the soft drinks industry. The simplicity of the ad, the jingle, the emotions, all combined to make this the top Super Bowl ad of all time.

The power of marketing to connect potential customers to your brand is stronger than ever. Strategis has expertise in all areas of marketing to help you reach your audience and maximize gains on your investment, so be sure to check out the website to see some of the work we have done and contact us to learn more.