
Four million dollars is a lot of money for a 30 second ad. So every year at this time the marketing industry asks itself aloud, again and again, "if brands should advertise on the Super Bowl?" Or, "is it a good use of money to run an ad on the Super Bowl?" These questions make for meandering industry posts and lukewarm journalism.
The question is: "when does it make sense to advertise on the Super Bowl?"
And with that, a re-visitation of the three marketing situations when airing a Super Bowl ad to 110 million Americans makes sense.
1. It's a new product launch that many could find value in.
The key is "new." The advertiser is saying, "hello." After all, the history of Super Bowl-Advertising-As-Event started with Apple launching Macintosh; something that was new and relevant to the mass audience. And when online job seeking was hatched as a category in '99, Monster used the game for the same reason... But it doesn't have to be that grand of purpose; this year, Nestlé is choosing this reason to support putting Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups into the game.
2. It's a household name that has an important message to say.
The key is "important." After the game, many of the commercials panned as lame may not have fully embraced the fact that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest events of the year. If the core message isn't perceived as important enough to be worthy of that environment, there's a high risk the audience won't like it. This is a tough one to do well, but Master Lock in '74, Budweiser in '02 and Chrysler's recent ads have proven this reason true.
3. A household name that wants to further establish their position, gain more share, or expand the way we think about them.
This is primarily reserved for products that show well when we're in our football-watching mindset. Products that are social, fun and enjoyable for many. Brands like Tabasco, McDonald's and Coke have executed well here... It's predicted there will be a few of these this year, and, according to Brand Keys this is the area where ROI is most achievable.