Last year, I started a new tradition. I’ve always watched the Super Bowl ads with more focus than the game. It’s a sport unto itself to see what $4 million looks like going by in 30 seconds.
But last February, I live-tweeted during every commercial break, recognizing the good ads and calling out the bad. Why? Many reasons. First of all, it’s a copywriter’s greatest challenge to speed-analyze advertising with a 140-character count cut-off. Plus, it tells brands, in a very public forum, that they’re doing great work… or missing the mark entirely.
Remember the Teleflora ad? The one where Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima, clad in lingerie, purred into the camera her advice for Valentine’s Day to men: “It’s simple. Give and you shall receive.”
In response to that ad, I issued a one-word tweet:
Telewhora.
And of course there was the GoDaddy body paint ad, which could be Exhibit A for the principal of “borrowed interest” in portfolio class.
Then there are the companies that produce great work: Google with their “Parisian Love” spot and VW’s crowd-pleasing “Darth Vader” ad – so timeless, rumor has it they will run it for the third year on Feb 3.
There’s something for everyone in the Super Bowl: babies (E*Trade), animals (the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Coke bears) and even talking candy (M&Ms). David Beckham may even turn up in his skivvies, which poses a quandary for me…
And to make our tweet-fest have even more power, I’m assembling a list of the Twitter handles for all 2013 Super Bowl advertisers… and their agencies. Including those in your tweets gets on the radar of those making these $4 million decisions. Stay tuned for that list to come.
But for now, save the date…
Kat – Very much looking forward to following along and a lively discussion!
For everyone else who wants to participate be sure to use the Super Bowl’s official hashtag #SB47 or at tag them @SuperBowl.
Ha. Controversy certainly breeds interest. Ya got me. Do you think maybe your tweet for the Victoria’s Secret (non-withstanding the children watching) may have been a bit harsh? The “Every Kiss begins with “K” ad implied lip-service for the baubles, and surely, “petting” as well. (I know this was not a Super Bowl ad) The Victoria’s Secret model purred; “It’s simple. Give and you shall receive” Ummmm what do you think she was implying would be given?
Is this not the; “eye of the beholder” question? Or not?
Stephen — thanks for chiming in. Below is the link to the Teleflora ad. Hardly subtle, doesn’t even feel like an “implication” — especially with their closing thought: “Happy Valentine’s Night.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcHtAnF8_0c
You raise an interesting point about the Kay Jeweler’s ad. It’s a similar construct, but dialed down. More palatable to women. Let’s keep the conversation going, everyone.
I always took “Every Kiss begins with “K” as a present being an indication of love.
A bit commercial perhaps, but this (love) is something shared as opposed to something bought and sold.
The Teleflora ad seems clear, buy me something and you will get lucky. A transaction.
The Super Bowl is a super fest for football and ad fans alike. Having written a Super Bowl spot and been part of the frenzy, I can tell you for a fact that any brand that spends millions on a 30-second spot is not only expecting, but PRAYING for viewers to weigh in. They scrape the data with a fine-tooth comb. So it’s a perfect time for 3 percenters to share their opinions. So Kat, I’ll keep my devices handy, add my play-by-play and commercial break analysis. Can’t wait to hear yours.
By the way, it’s worth noting that more and more brands are building interest long before the first kick-off by previewing their spots on YouTube and other social platforms and through integrated offline efforts.
So while the big game isn’t until February 3rd, our pre-game fun can start long before the coin toss.
Kat, the Super Bowl is the one game of the year and usually the one TV event of the year that I don’t move from the couch. I will grab the remote and hide it so I get to see the commercials without my husband channel-surfing! I look forward to your list. I will have your list handy for the Tweetfest. Thanks.
Kat, AAF Seattle (http://j.mp/AAFSeattle) hosts an annual Chalk Talk Super Bowl ad replay for its membership and the local creative community a couple days after the game. We have a panel of brand and agency experts interacting with each other and the audience, incorporating feedback from Twitter using #ChalkTalk2013. We’d be thrilled if you could include the hashtag into one of your tweets for us to share. Thanks!
Will do, Luis. Thanks for the heads up.
Ad Age just interviewed 10 CDs to ask them where/how they’ll watch the Super Bowl. All men, all white. I left a comment about our tweet-fest + reminded Ad Age that 46% of Super Bowl viewers are women.
Great idea! I’m in!! Thanks for organizing!
Great blog. As a brand person, I tweeted live during the ads last year too and wrote blogs about it.
Will be in NOLA this year checking out the experience. Am going to link to your blog! Will follow you and please do the same.
@skconcepts
I hadn’t really thought about live-Tweeting for these reasons! For me, I’ve only live-Tweeted/watched live-Tweets to get a pulse on what people think and share my own opinions with people who may be interested. But as a learning tool? Wow! Good stuff.
I’ll note I remember the Google and VW commercials, but not the Teleflora one.
And I moved all my domains away from GoDaddy.
#NotBuyingIt will likely, and unfortunately, show up in my tweets this year.