The game is over. Taylor Swift has added Super Bowl LVIII Champion to her resume. And America got an incredible football game last night played by two teams who left it all on the field. Honestly, for the first time in YEARS, I felt the game overshadowed the commercials - and not the other way around - and that’s a refreshing change of pace. The commercials though, I saw a lot of people saying it was a snooze fest overall and I don’t think that’s quite fair. I think this year we saw a lot of tailored ads designed to hit their target audience and not America overall. That’s a huge distinction. We saw a lot of “Trailer now available” or “go to our website for more exclusive content”. In that regard, these commercials this year actually hit the mark!
For the most part . . . Some (coughcoughTurboTaxcough) just failed in all regards. But there were some really creative ads that identified their desired consumer REALLY well and delivered a custom and tailored experience. There were some ads that went further and not only hit their consumer, but also was cute or entertaining enough to provide positive feelings with the brand. As a marketing professional himself, the Kilted Team’s very own James Evans does a deep dive on this year’s best, and worst, ads of Superbowl 2024!
Superbowl LVIII - Did the commercials do it for you?
Dunkin Doughnuts - Dunkings make their debut 👍
Funny, stayed on brand, and there was no dying who the company buying the ad space was. Obesity is winning the war on America with this one. A+ marketing.
Nerd Clusters - The Dancing gummy 👍
This one had us real confused at the onset. A red gummy dancing like nobody’s watching. But we were definitely intrigued. Honestly, why was I so mesmerized by a dancing red jelly? But then those nostalgic little…whatever the heck Nerds are actually supposed to be… dinosaurs? I honestly have no idea, but as soon as they poured from the sky we BOTH went “AWWWW NERD CLUSTERS!” Dang… marketing man. Sometimes it wins.
Homes.com - the billion dollar rebrand 👎
This was the commercial I was most intrigued to see - though I didn’t know it was going to have multiple ones. In the real estate world, it was widely known that they spent over $1Bn towards this spot — between the ads, production, and all of the ancillary marketing used to hype the ads up. And, I think it was a $1Bn flop. The ads were clunky and, while star studded, didn’t really showcase why buyers should go use Homes.com and NOT Zillow or their favorite agents website. Honestly. If the point was to break into the market, I don’t think they gave a resounding answer to Zillow. I wanted to like the HS football one where he ended up escaping on a helicopter; but at the end of the day, it still felt a little weird and creepy - even though I did at least chuckle at the concept. This was a miss. And I bet the upper management at CoStar isn’t particularly pleased.
Ske(t)chers - AINT GO NOT ‘T’ 👍
Fun fact - I’m not sure if I got Mandela Effected here but I’m not sure I knew the correct spelling here. Ultimately, I think though they rooted into a really unique and humorous thing of the brand, and they used an easily recognizable character for it. This was memorable - and for an iconic brand like Skechers, that’s all they needed.
Michelob Ultra - Messi embarasses the masses 👍
This was a really fun and playful commercial. I watched it, and when it finished I was like “I’d get faked out by the Great Messi and buy him a Mich Ultra and call it an honor”. I think it was an effective way to keep eyes on the product for an extended time without being intrusive. Ultimately, good ad.
HeGetsUs - effective rebrand for a younger generation 👍
It’s not news to know that religion is less popular today than it was 50 years ago in America. But I thought these commercials were very effective with their imagery and sticking to the classic parables of Jesus and what makes him marketable to masses. If the intent was to try and get younger adults to “give it another shot”, I think it was probably effective in that regard. That said, I personally didn’t click through, so I have no idea who is behind these ads and I’m always leery of vague sounding names putting out wholesome content.
The Christopher Walken and Usher Mashup - 👎👍
So, I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, it was hilarious. On the other hand, I totally missed the part that it was a BMW commercial. But this one got us hyped for the halftime FO SHO! YEAH! But a waste of money for BMW.
Reeses Cups - The Caramel Conundrum 👎
This commercial was annoying and long-winded. I understood the idea for using the Superbowl to put forth a new product. THAT was smart. This ad was a total miss because I think it made people want to look away. Not to mention, as a Reeses lover myself, the caramel sounds like waaaaaay too much.
Turbotax - Yall spent all that money to be the first commercial, and THAT was your answer? 👎👎👎
Weak. First, nobody wants to hear about how awesome their tax software is. Second, anybody else watch Abbott Elementary? ‘Cause that’s the only thing we took away from these two spots.
Pringles with Chris Pratt - I need a Starlord/Rocket mashup in my life ASAP 👍
As soon as I saw Chris Pratt holding a Pringles can I started laughing. I think this was a definite win! They hit their target market’s style, and the commercial itself was humorous for everyone else to enjoy which means positive vibes for their brand. Seriously, when he rotated the Pringles can and it unlocked his phone, I lost it! Great job Pringles!
Mountain Dew Baja Blast - Aubrey Plaza does…the usual. 👍
Listen, I didn’t like this commercial; but I think Mountain Dew knew what they were doing. For those who love Mountain Dew or Taco Bell, I think this was a homerun. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
Poppi - The Reinvented Soda… But Healthy! 👍👍👍
I’ve never heard of Popi, but I bet their sales are about to see a huge spike. Healthy alternatives are a huge market share these days with billions in spending. I think they sold their bridge line “soda” really well. By saying it every 4 words it emphasized that Popi is not like a La Croix. It’s soda. But it’s healthy and fun. Seriously, I think this was such an effective ad and I expect them to continue pushing this across IG and Youtube sponsored ads. Fun fact, Poppi is a mom and pop brand that made it on Shark Tank!
Etsy - Gift Mode Activate! 👍
I know a lot of people hate how the Etsy system works. But this ad was super effective and will drive traffic. It introduced their new “Gift Mode” product to help get consumers paired with creators faster and, hopefully, with relevant product. This means more revenue for Etsy and its creators.
Apple Music - The Disclaimer That Came On Just Before Halftime Show 👎👎👎
It made me feel like I needed to confess something bad to a trusted adult. Creepy. Did not like.
Verizon - Queen B Still Shines 👍👍
Verizon came in strong twice. But this Beyonce ad was amazing! Verizon has been trying to roll out their new plans, including their internet for awhile now and I think this was a great piece to showcase its strength in streaming. But me? I’m personally ready for BeyoncAI.
Temu - Was I Watching a Super Bowl ad or A Mobile Game Ad? 👎👎👎
Awful. First off, how dare they say their own name wrong in front of millions of viewers. Just silly. But seriously, there was no real plot or direction, and it was just weird. Also, how much money are they making over there on $1.29 items that they can afford THREE spots?
Bud Light - Always Has a Great Party Vibe 👍
Bud Light I think has a great marketing department. This one was no exception. It wasn’t as memorable as some of their other campaigns they’ve run, but it had a T-Rex so now my kid is on Team Bud Light…. so… that’s a cool I guess.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
State Farm - Anytime you get Ahhhhhhnold to go Ahhhhhh it’s a win for me.
Pfizer - How dare a billion dollar company profiting off people’s sickness make me feel sympathetic for their company. That hurt me in the ethics to like this one.
VW - That disclaimer “Do Not Try if not living in the 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s” made the entire commercial. And to pay homage to Lord Vader that captivated us - props.
T-Mobile - They tried hard to rival Verizon’s data ad. But Beyonce > Momoa. Sorry
All in, a very enjoyable Super Bowl! One of my favorites in a very long time. The best part, the game actually overshadowed the commercials this year which was the real treat, and all in, I think most of the ads were successful. I have seen a lot of disagreement from that opinion amongst my friends though. Here’s my take — Super Bowl commercials used to go for being the most memorable or talked about; we all remember WAZZZUPPPPPP or the labor inducing Doritos commercial. But this year I think the marketing departments took a step back and said do we want to be memorable, or do we want to make money? Much more targeting on these ads and, as such, that turned off a lot of people because they weren’t the intended target. But if you take them for what they were - mechanism to spur commerce for the company; I think a lot of these really hit the mark.
And if you still want the best real estate marketing in Central Florida - well, then be sure to drop a line to me and we’ll get you moving forward with your real estate goals.
