There is nothing more exciting than living in one of the cities represented in the Super Bowl – and yes, as I write this, I am wearing my Denver Broncos gear. That is unless you are both a football and marketing aficionado, then Super Bowl Sunday is like Christmas and your birthday all bundled into one.
And, thanks to the Internet, today the race to air a 30-second most-memorable Super Bowl TV ad begins about a week or two before Super Bowl Sunday. While some brands have already begun to post their commercials online, via YouTube and other video websites, others have been generating both traditional media and social media praises for these ads. For the amount spent to buy the TV spot, with the average of a 30-second spot selling at $4.8 million, the ads ought to be generating buzz already.
Compare that with the $42,000 price tag on a 30-second TV spot during the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game – also retroactively referred to as Super Bowl I – that aired in 1967.
Now, we all remember last year's super fumble: Nationwide's "dead kid" TV ad (and if you don't, here's a reminder). That ad got Nationwide so much negative attention, from the press and the public on social media, that the company had to issue an official statement and it cost their chief marketing officer their job, a report from the Los Angeles Times says.
But which brand will be the most talked about come National Hangover Day – I mean, "That Monday after the Super Bowl" day? And which brands will become such epic fails that people will rise up en masse and take their pitchforks and torches to the disgraced brands' Facebook page?
What does this have to do with the financial industry?
"Increasingly, companies in the financial sector are showing up to the Big Game. Apparently they've realized two things: (1) nearly every American is watching the Super Bowl; (2) nearly every American worries about money in some way or another." That's according to SuperBowlCommercial2016.org, a website that has all of the commercials airing for 2016.
While it seems like Nationwide won't be participating this year, the other usual financial brands that will be showcasing their creativity are related to tax filing, because tax season is right around the corner, and banking.
Other than looking out for the classics, like Budweiser, Pepsi, Doritos, Coca-Cola, Skittles and more food and beverage-related brands, there are some newcomers to the Super Bowl TV ad leagues this year. Among them, Amazon, Colgate, Pokémon (yes, the video and card game), SunTrust, PayPal, QuickenLoans, SoFi, and many more.
And with that, let's take a look at what we can expect on Sunday from the most popular brands to those related to the financial and insurance industries and their Super Bowls ads:
1. Beware drunk drivers – this British lady is out to get ya:
This ad immediately reminded us of Dos Equis' "The Most Interesting Man in the World" ads (which you can see here), but with a side of spicy: British actress Helen Mirren. Known for being a "notoriously frank and uncensored British lady," as she describes herself in the Budweiser ad, the TV spot is not a PSA, but if you drive drunk, prepare to face Mirren's wrath of insults, which sounds more like a Shakespearean poem.
2. A tribute to music and Pepsi:
The famous soda brand is sponsoring, for the fourth year in a row, the Super Bowl half-time show. And so, along with celebrating the game's 50th anniversary, they have produced a fun trip down memory lane using music as the identifier for each decade, and ending with their jingle. The ad stars singer Janelle Monae.
3. The weird reigns supreme?
You know when you eat something new for the first time, sometimes you are literally at a loss for words on how to describe it?
Or when you see something and it leaves you feeling … off and weird. That's how this ad left us. What do you think? Does it work? Are you singing the weird #Puppymonkeybaby jingle? Just watch it and comment below.
4. Does mystery really work?
Taco Bell has been teasing their audiences for a long time with their ads, but this time, they are really keeping their new product (maybe something that has taco meat and other taco-related ingredients in it?) under wraps.
The big unveiling will be during the Super Bowl, but in the meantime, you can watch some of their ads above or here and here. We will know Sunday if it was it worth waiting for.
5. Dogs, dogs and more dogs
You would think that cats own the internet, yet dogs still own most of the Super Bowl ads and Heinz, the famous condiment company, has been paying attention.
Now, what is funnier than a pack of wiener dogs in hot dog costumes, running through a meadow towards a huge ketchup bottle?
