super bowl XLIII (2009) tv ads : e-trade babies

babies usually do it for ads. e-trade has done babies before. while this is cute, kinda, don't know if it really works. it's not like this is the world's cutest baby tv ad. that is what it needs to take to make this baby tv ad work well at the super bowl.

super bowl XLIII (2009) tv ads : doritos score big

this is one the top ads during the super bowl. what makes it more interesting is that madison avenue didn't make them.

Dallas marketer scores Super Bowl winner with Doritos ad contest

Andrew Robinson underestimated the power of America's imagination, and he and his client couldn't be happier with this miscalculation.


The 50-year-old senior vice president of the Marketing Arm created a contest three years ago in which ordinary Joes submit homemade commercials for Doritos. The top entries air during the Super Bowl.

Robinson and his team suggested a twist for 2009: Frito-Lay would pay a million-dollar bonus prize if a "Crash the Super Bowl" ad was voted the most popular ad during the big game.

That would mean dethroning Budweiser, the decadelong king of USA Today 's Ad Meter, which monitors the responses of a focus group to ads aired during the Super Bowl.

Robinson – and Frito-Lay – never imagined that a homemade ad would beat the high-paid minds of Madison Avenue.

Two self-described "nobodies from nowhere" did.

"It's absolutely the best million dollars we've ever spent," says Frito-Lay spokesman Chris Kuechenmeister. "Anybody here would tell you that."

Joe and Dave Herbert, unemployed 30-something brothers from Batesville, Ind., made marketing history with a funky 30-second spot called "Free Doritos!"

It featured a Dilbert-looking guy predicting free Doritos for the office, then shattering a vending machine with a crystal ball (really a snow globe).

The brothers spent $2,000 – mostly for food for the crew and five panes of glass – to beat out 51 high-dollar contenders for Ad Meter's most-liked spot.

Other indications that it won viewers' attention: More TiVo customers replayed the Doritos snow globe ad than they did Steelers linebacker James Harrison's 100-yard dash for the end zone. Doritos got the biggest image boost in a Super Bowl research survey by comScore. And the ad won YouTube's Ad Blitz 2009.

The going rate for big-game airtime was $3 million for a half-minute, so this was no small gamble on Frito-Lay's part.

It also paid for the second-place finisher, "Power of the Crunch," to get 30 seconds of fame. A guy eating Doritos magically causes a beautiful woman's clothing to fly off, an ATM to dispense a flurry of money and a policeman to turn into a small monkey. When his Doritos bag is empty, the guy gets hit by a bus.

That spot finished fifth.

Competing with pros

"We've always been blown away with the creativity and the passion of Doritos fans," says Kuechenmeister. "They showed this year that they can compete with the best in the business."

The Marketing Arm handles all of Frito-Lay's promotional advertising, Robinson says. Crash the Super Bowl is an evolution of his initial work on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl that began in 1995.

Back then, it was just him. Today, nearly 60 agency staffers are assigned to Frito-Lay's account. Nearly a dozen worked on this year's contest.

Robinson came up with the quirky campaign in 2006 as a way to engage Doritos' core consumer – young males. It's open to everyone, but most of the entries – and all of the finalists – were submitted by men.

Millennial guys – those under 28 – instantly shun advertising that even hints of marketing mind control, says Robinson, the father of three sons ages 7 to 19.

"They live in this hyper-life. They have their iPods on. They're doing IM and watching TV while doing their homework." Robinson says, sitting in a Marketing Arm conference room in downtown Dallas.

"What better way to show your authenticity than to provide the opportunity to produce your own commercial and have it aired on the biggest advertising stage of the year?"

But when he presented the idea to Frito-Lay, almost everyone was taken aback. They asked Robinson if he really thought any of the commercials would be worth millions to air. He confidently assured them that creative geniuses were just waiting to be discovered.

"In reality, I had no clue," Robinson says.

When the "really God-awful" entries started rolling in, Robinson was certain his agency would be fired. "But slowly, as we drew closer to the deadline, they got better and better."

Expectations exceeded

That first year, Marketing Arm winnowed 1,000 entries into 20 potential finalists. The Doritos brand team picked five that were put on a Web site for public vote.

"We were trying to manage expectations," Robinson says. "No matter what anyone says, you're advertising in the Super Bowl, and you're worried about that Ad Meter. Someone has to finish last. And you hope to God it's not you."

For the first and second years of the contest, Frito-Lay's top online vote-getters finished fourth.

"The mojo on the brand started to come back," he says. "It's been kicking butt since then."

In the months ahead, the two Super Bowl ads and the other three finalists will air as part of a national campaign, Kuechenmeister says.

Planning for next year will start in April or May, Robinson says. "This is not official, but the nice thing about finishing No. 1 is it sets up pretty easily as 'defending the crown.' "

As for a repeat of the $1 million bonus, both Robinson and Kuechenmeister say we'll just have to stay tuned.

source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/DN-Hall_11bus.ART.State.Edition1.4bcc92e.html

super bowl XLIII (200) tv ads: pepsi refresh, my memory

i don't get this ad. is this supposed to be like an intro to pepsi's new logo and new thinking? the jingle is about the new generation but it has bob dylan in it who very few of the youth, who we assume is pepsi's target market, know about. wil i. am is there, they know him but what is the point of being sentimental when only a portion of the audience can relate to? sentimentality works with the old, but not the youth.

the coke ad that started the super bowl tradition

Gold Derby
By Tom O'Neil
Los Angeles Times

Super Bowl ads draw almost as much attention as the game itself, and this year was no exception. After all, the right ad can make a lasting impression. In 1980, the Pittsburgh Steelers were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, and while that was memorable enough, a first-quarter ad featuring their defensive tackle — "Mean" Joe Greene — became an instant classic. The spot featured a limping Greene coming off the field and given a Coke by a young boy who is rewarded with an unexpected smile and the player's game jersey.

The commercial went on to win a Clio Award— advertising's highest honor — and even spawned a TV movie. And that 60-second spot launched a Super Bowl tradition. Four years later, the Apple ad depicting "1984" come to life raised the bar even higher. Now, with the eligibility period for the upcoming Clio Awards extended, which if any of the 2009 ads will make the grade?

read in full here: http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/02/could-super-bow.html

super bowl XLIII (2009) ads : bud light's joke during a meeting

the intensity and passion that they have on their bud light is very much like what security officers have at airports where if you so much as say the word "bomb" inside an airport or inside an airplane, security officers will certainly arrest you and kick you out of the plane or the airport.

that is what this ad is trying to say. we all know it's hyperbole at the extreme, but we buy into the story and we like it.

super bowl XLIII (2009) ads : bud light's conan o'brien's sweden tv ad

hilarious! conan is a great fit for this. they could have made the conan routine just a bit more edgy but it's ok the ad got out a laugh from us. beer is about light moments and just silly fun. this ad fits very well into that brand character.

Super Bowl XLIII (2009) ads sold out, NBC makes $208 Million

we are of the view that even in times of economic crisis such as the one we are having one, spending in advertising and marketing is very much needed. in fact, we argue that it is in times like these that brands need marketing and advertising the most.

the only difference between now and during times of plenty is that you need to be much more selective in what you do. and more importantly, if you decide to do something, make sure it works. or at least your confidence at success is extremely high.

NBC being able to sell out all their ads, worth $208 Million, at $3 Million per 30 second spot is perhaps one of the more eloquent statement that demonstrates the virtue of our position.

we will be posting in the next days what we think advertisers should do and how to do advertising in these times of economic uncertainty.

NBC Sells Out Super Bowl Ads

TAMPA, Fla.--NBC has announced that it has sold all of its available ad spots for the network's Super Bowl telecast Sunday.

The network generated a record $206 million in advertising revenue for the game telecast and $261 million for the entire day, NBC announced."These advertising milestones show the power of the NFL brand and the strength of the Super Bowl as a TV property in this economic climate," Jeff Zucker, the president and CEO of NBC Universal, said in a written statement released by the network.

"The Super Bowl has become one of our country's biggest holidays, a uniquely American day, and advertisers recognized the value in being a part of it, as their commercials are nearly as big a part of the day as the football itself. This is an extraordinary story for NBC against the backdrop of this economy."NBC sold 69 ad spots for the game telecast, according to a network spokesman.

http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/nflnewsfeed/2009/01/nbc-sells-out-super-bowl-ads.html?hpid=topnews

super bowl XLVIII (2009) tv ads : bud light and the porno man

budweiser has been my all time favorite during the super bowl. and this one is not an exception. it's simple and simply funny. it scores!



beer is an every man's drink. and most every man watching the super bowl will most likely be drinking beer. that is the reason why this ad will work.

one question that comes to mind is - does a brand want to have a brand character of being a sleeze who buys porn? while that's a legitimate question, what trumps the concern is the point that this is an ad that every man will most likely find funny and something, while not really exepriential for most, it is a situation every man can relate to.

it's the humor that will get you in this ad. the humor that portrays the life and times of every man. that's empathy that makes you laugh and that is why this ad works very well.

super bowl XLVIII (2009) : coke's sizzling tv ad

just gorgeous production values. well lit, great colors, just simply well done. it's not the coke ad we are used to seeing but this one gets you to pay attention and appreciate nature.

what is the song that they have in this ad? i could not care less for it. they should have used a more familiar song/melody as music bed. a great music would have improved this ad twofold.

Super Bowl XLIII is here and so will the great new tv ads

there are many american traditions associated with the super bowl and one of it is advertising related. not only is the super bowl full of american traditions, is also traditionally a big event for the advertising industry with many of the ad agencies and clients producing and airing the best ads of the industry during the super bowl.

many of these ads are produced only for the super bowl and some are aired only in the super bowl, meaning they get aired only once. some brands and most notable is steve job's apple macintosh has used the super bowl as a successful launch pad for new products and new advertising. (read about the successful apple macintosh launch in 1984 here: http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-apple-tv-ad-started-it-all-for.html; we have also featured many super bowl XLII ads in this blog.).

but fame and glory comes with a hefty price tag. that is another tradition in the super bowl. the rumor is an ad at super bowl XLIII will cost US$3 Million per 30 second spot! that to a lot of many brands in the philippines is the whole marketing budget for a year!

it's not just the price tag of a 30 second ad that has a lot of numbers in it, the audience is also huge. the super bowl is one of the most watched event on tv in the US. super bowl parties in many american homes are organized for the purpose where the whole family and friends gather to watch the whole thing. so, the $ amount may be worth it.

but for WAWAM!, we're not in it for the tail gating parties, and not just for the game, but for the ads.