I started thinking about this post over a week ago, but I was a little surprised when I got my first Super Bowl ad review 4 days before the ad aired. In fact, Hub Spot told me that over 1 million people had seen the the Darth Vader ad by Thursday and that number was climbing. Over 14 million people had seen it before Sunday.
Great ad, in fact, I love it. But I am wrestling with the fact that it was uploaded to You Tube so far in advance. Then on Friday, I watched the Today Show while I was getting ready for a meeting and got to preview more ads or knew which ones I was “supposed” to watch, including an Ozzy Osbourne/Justin Bieber collaboration. This got me thinking:
Is anticipation and surprise in advertising “old school”?
Sometime sitting back and watching the commercial is what I want to do; I want to be surprised and delighted. By releasing the commercials so far in advance, I am now having to rely on others who have seen the ad-or are paid to hype the ad. It reminds me of going to see a “funny” movie and all of the best laughs were in the previews and I am one disappointed consumer. Many ads drove a viewer to a website to encourage participation with the brand–hopefully leading to more engaged consumers.
Did anyone else notice that most of the ads were very industrial or gritty? After reading Ryan’s post on Green Design, I couldn’t help but notice that color was absent in most of the ads. Is that symbolic of the economy? Even the Snickers ad with Roseanne took place in a muddy construction yard instead of a green football field.
Go Big or Go Home
Here are two ads I didn’t know about and was so enthralled. The first one was so nostalgic, and even the non-target markets, like children could understand what was happening. A compilation of some of the best “classic” tv shows to thank fans; they were speaking to “me”.
My favorite ad of the night was from Chrysler-check it out, if you haven’t seen it. I love how Chrysler took something simple – expanding the air time to craft a story – to make the ad effective. Plus it may have been cost-effective to do a 2 minute ad versus Four 30 second ads. I also love how they took the concept of “Buy American” and elevated it to the tagline, “Imported from Detroit”. The music and feeling made me want to be part of a changing world and buy a cool car. My favorite ads surprised and delighted me.
Timing is Everything
Does releasing content and marketing materials FIRST impact the audience? Should only the ads with a “surprise” ending wait? Is that guerrilla marketing at its finest? It really is up to the materials you have–if it is just a twist on a tagline, you can probably release it now, if it is unique, surprise them. How are you going to surprise your audience?
Sarah, I just got back from the Chicago Auto Show and the most recent VW Youtube statistics were being shown on a huge screen while the Darth Vader commercial was running. I was there for a social media press day. One of the busiest displays with people – other than Ford’s – was the VW booth. I checked the recent statistics right from Youtube when I got back. Over 26M views. This is trending to become the #1 most viewed and #1 rated videos of all time.
#1 – Top Rated (This Month))
#1 – Top Rated (This Month)) – Autos & Vehicles
#1 – Top Rated (All Time)) – Autos & Vehicles
It will take some time to judge whether having one of the best integrations in a social media viral video campaign translates to sales on the dealer show floor. But if I were a gambling person, I would bet on a positive outcome.
Wendy
xeesm.com/wenduysoucie
Wendy,
Thanks for the comment and feedback! This ad previewed well and it just doesn’t seem to get old. It touched so many demographics–people who could buy the product and their families. I have 2 boys that are in the target age and they wanted to watch the ad over and over, too.
Oprah also created buzz around the VW Beetle about 2 months ago when it was a “Favorite Thing”. I agree that creating this buzz around a product that still won’t be released for another 6+ months is incredible and I am really curious to see what is going to be “next” to sustain that buzz over the long haul. I am thinking we’ll see another big ad/social media campaign in a few months before we see the Beetle.
I really can’t remember anytime in my career when the Super Bowl buzz has lasted more than a day or two and it is now a week later and we’re still talking about it.
Even though I wasn’t “surprised”, this ad will be remembered and could significantly influence sales.