It’s on Sunday. It will be watched by 112 million people across America, despite the fact that overall NFL TV audiences have dropped 8 per cent this year. Lady Gaga will be the star of the halftime show and as many people are excited about the advertising they will see as there are looking forward to Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots on another game winning drive.
The cult of the Superbowl ad just keeps betting bigger and bigger. This year it is reported that each 30 second spot will cost around $5.5 million. Add to that around a 50 per cent allocation of the cost of the ad to promote it and you see this is a high stakes game for brands as well as teams.
We’ve picked out a selection of the ads that have been aired or leaked in advance to give you a sense of what to expect if you are watching in the US or intrigued by the creative world of advertising.
first up is the one that is catching most of the headlines, an immigrants tale of the founder of Anheuser Busch coming to America and receiving a less than warm welcome. Budweiser’s Global Marketing Chief Ricardo Marques says its about the inspiring story of an entrepreneur who kept on going, and nothing at all to do with Donald Trump and immigration. Marques has built a stellar career himself in the US having arrived in the country from Portugal…
Audi’s ad focuses on Dads and Daughters. “What do I tell my daughter, that her Dad is worth more than her Mum, that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued less than every man she meets…”
Well obviously not and the ad has kicked off a robust debate about the reality of equality rather than the emotional appeal.
And Ford whose premise that nobody likes getting stuck gives them an opportunity to show off the technical advances they are making to help us all go further…
Sticking with the car theme we don’t know yet what Nissan’s campaign will look like but this was their ad from 2015 voted one of the best Superbowl ads of all time…
Enjoy the game, and everything that surrounds it.
