This year’s Super Bowl drew 111.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings – an audience measurement system developed by the Nielsen Co. That makes it the most-watched television show in U.S. history – at least for the first half.
After viewership spiked to 115.3 million for the Bruno Mars/Red Hot Chili Peppers halftime show, it plummeted during a second half that saw Seattle run away with the game. By the time Fox aired its hit shows “New Girl” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” following the main event, ratings had dropped to 25.8 million and 14.8 million, respectively. And while those numbers are still far better than most prime time shows, it’s not even a quarter of the viewership from the beginning of the game.
At $4 million per 30 seconds, that’s a lot of money to see unreturned on investment.
Chrysler better hope its “Nearly Double” minute-and-a-half, back-to-back offering during the first quarter paid off.
It’s likely the car company will see a spike in sales thanks to the Super Bowl, and for good reason – its commercials this year were among the better ones of a lackluster group. It’s almost as if advertisers this year knew the Super Bowl was going to be a dud and therefore prepared commercials to match accordingly.
Oh, how I long for the days of Spuds MacKenzie, the Budweiser frogs and Cindy Crawford buying a Pepsi.
And speaking of Pepsi, their ad was perhaps the biggest letdown. Aside from the sponsorship of the halftime show, the soft drink company was forgettable this year. By comparison, their competitor, Coca-Cola, had perhaps the most successful commercial of the year.
Against the backdrop of “America The Beautiful,” Coca-Cola showed random events taking place in the lives of everyday Americans – red and yellow, black and white, and every nationality in between. It was a smart move on Coke’s part, because it gave a subtle nod to the fact that the company has the most-recognized brand in the world while paying homage to the diverse people groups that make up this great nation. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Coca-Cola’s “America” was the most American commercial of those that chose to utilize a patriotic theme. And that’s saying something in the face of Budweiser’s “A Hero’s Welcome,” which follows the return of a soldier from the foreign field as he is welcomed by family, friends and an entire community.
Couple that with Budweiser’s “Best Buds” commercial that showed the loyal relationship between a puppy and a young Clydesdale, and the beer company owned the market on tugging of heartstrings.
That won’t work much longer for Budweiser, as over-saturated Americans are overly familiar with having their emotions manipulated – but for this year it will probably work.
That said, I still miss Spuds MacKenzie.
And like Spuds, some companies opted to go with comedy to sell its product. T-Mobile was perhaps the most successful, thanks in large part to the clever use of Tim Tebow and his “No Contract” endorsement. Beats also scored a win by enlisting talk show host Ellen to do her patented dance while wearing the headphones, and Toyota deserves a nod for its playful use of the Muppets and Terry Crews.
That just goes to show, a well-used celebrity really does help sell product. Of course, that’s not always the case – as both Honda and Kia proved. Honda enlisted the services of Bruce Willis and Fred Armisen – the latter clinging to Willis in a “hugfest” throughout a monologue of the finer attributes of a new car. Kia turned to Laurence Fishburne playing his character Morpheus from the film “The Matrix.” It was working, too, until Fishburne suddenly broke into opera from the back seat of the new Kia. These commercials were supposed to be humorous, but there is such a thing as being overly witty, and more than likely most of those watching missed the dry humor – or worse, disassociated the humor with the product.
Between one of the least competitive Super Bowls ever, and some of the weakest commercials on record, this year’s self-prescribed national holiday was disappointing, to say the least. If I were an advertiser who had shelled out $4 million for 30 seconds of airtime, I’d definitely be asking, “Can I get my money back?”
Chris Roberts is editorial consultant for Joplin Regional Business Journal – a former sister publication of Springfield Business Journal. He also serves as communications director for the Joplin-based nonprofit Christ In Youth. He can be reached at chris.roberts@ciy.com.
