Every year I get excited about the Super Bowl not only for the game itself, but for the ads of course!

It's a chance to see what some of the best minds in advertising have conjured up, and it often boosts the entertainment value of the broadcast. 

This year, I found that we saw much of the same, tired themes that we typically see:

• Expensive, long-winded ads that focus on mega-celebrities (see Hard Rock / J-Lo)
• Ads that ride the coattails of famous films/TV shows/ads/etc. (see Mountain Dew)
• Ads that are trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to be funny (see Little Caesars)
• Just plain head scratchers (see Doritos)

I did notice, however, a theme that was somewhat unfamiliar or at least uncommon: a couple of ads focused entirely on social responsibility.  Both WeatherTech and Verizon dedicated their entire ad unit to good causes (veterinarian science and first responders, respectively).  In both cases a mere second or two mentioned the brand/product, with the remainder of the spots dedicated to tugging on our heart strings and talking about important things in the world. 

In my opinion, it's a bold strategy to get our attention and trigger an emotion (which are both fundamental components of effective advertising). It's not new per se, but it's bold because it's an awful lot of money to spend ($5.6 million for 30 seconds!) without talking about a product. But at the same time, the emotional connection created between brand and consumer is a valuable outcome of the advertising spend, and the bonus is the attention paid to meaningful causes!

YOUR TURN

This year, those ads win the battle for Super Bowl advertising supremacy, but I'd be interested in your thoughts. Is it effective? Or a wasted opportunity (especially considering the cost)?

You may have seen or read that a banana taped to a wall recently sold for $120,000 at a Miami art exhibit (yes, you read that correctly). What you may not have seen is all the brilliant trolling on social media by brands in response.

First, the background: Maurizio Cattelan is the artist... or "Absurdist" as he's actually (and appropriately) called... who quite literally taped a banana to the wall at the Art Basel exhibit in Miami, described how the banana provided him inspiration in his travels and sold three (yes, two for $120,000 and a final one for $150,000) to collectors who, of course, don't get to keep the banana (it will rot... obviously). They purchased only a certificate which proves they bought a banana that they didn't get to keep. Yes, it's that crazy. Yes, you can read about it here.

The secondary story (you can't top that story) is the lesson for social media managers:

• Listen to the conversation. Use social media (and their filtering, searching and trend highlighting tools) to easily and efficiently hear what people are talking about. A LOT of people were talking about the $120,000 banana in the interwebs.
• Participate in the conversation! How? Imagine you were first learning about the topic at a social event of some kind. What would you say in response, in real life, to real people? That's typically a good place to start. 
• Have some fun. Be interesting. Be carefree.
• Be original. Don't just rip off someone else's idea. That's analogous to repeating what someone says in real life -- annoying.

Brands who did that well (and some who just ripped off an idea) are highlighted in this piece by Bored Panda. Which ones do you like the best?

Recently, I've discussed how brands like Bud Light and Aviation Gin are winning the social media game by listening and participating in viral social conversation, and having fun while doing it. It's not hard, you just have to start by listening.

Would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

Last minute addition. I love what Porsche did here:

Yes, more quickly than expected, Fox sold every 30-second spot for the upcoming Super Bowl for $5.6 million EACH, which is an all-time high​. And if you've ever watched the Super Bowl, you know there are a LOT of ads. 

Does it seem worth it? Or does it seem like a total waste of perfectly good marketing dollars? In honour of this news, I'm digging out [and updating] an old post about the value of expensive Super Bowl advertising, to re-open the conversation. Let me know what you think in the comments!...



In 2006 I distinctly remember being outraged that the Boston Red Sox paid $51 million just to negotiate with a promising Japanese pitcher named Daisuke Matsuzaka. "There's no way a pitcher who plays every fifth game is worth that!" I announced to anyone willing to listen. Then a colleague changed my thinking on baseball contracts...and subsequently on advertising costs...with one statement. "They expect to make that back in jersey sales alone" he said.  

Oh.  

I guess it's worth it then!  I'll shut up now.

The simple fact of the matter is that advertisers make their money back...and then some...for Super Bowl spots. Consider:

• More than 100 million people watch the Super Bowl. That's a lot.
• MORE THAN HALF of those people are watching JUST FOR THE ADS. Unlike any other program in the universe, people get up and make their sandwiches during game action so they don't miss the commercials! If you want to waste money on TV ads, buy spots on programs where viewers are making sandwiches while your ad is playing. I'm not even going to mention all the viewers that skip commercials using [the digital ad-blocking and playback recording options now available].
• Every ad gets countless mentions leading up to the game and even more re-runs after the game in the news media. It's next to impossible to count all the 'Best Super Bowl Ads' lists.
• Social media coverage and YouTube views can explode for the best ads. Forever. One of my all-time favourite ads - the Volkswagen Star Wars spot from 2011 - has [85 million] views and counting on YouTube. Update: the video has been removed from VW's YouTube page, but lives on on other YouTube channels.
• The retail channel makes more shelf space for products being advertised.
• Brand awareness skyrockets.

Forbes, who estimates the value of each spot at $10 million, believes the advertisers make their money back on brand recall alone.  

Much like the Red Sox making their investment back in jersey sales alone.

That, my friends, is the power of brand impressions, and the power of the Super Bowl.

YOUR TURN

Despite all this, many previous SuperBowl advertisers are backing out due to the hefty price tag. What's your take on the ROI of Super Bowl spots? 

LESSON FOR MARKETERS

For small and medium-sized businesses, I absolutely LOVE the efficiency that comes with digital / social advertising. It's highly targeted, it's inexpensive and you control the costs. If it isn't already, it should be a part of your marketing efforts.

YOUR TURN

What are your success stories with digital advertising? What are the challenges you are still facing?
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As I quickly reflect upon the commercials that I believe are the 5 best, I notice that they are all meant to be funny. Upon further reflection, however, that makes sense.

Commercials HAVE to be memorable to be effective. If the viewer can't remember the ad afterwards, was it even worth making? Furthermore, if the viewer can remember the ad, but can't remember the brand it was advertising, that's just as bad. What these 5 brands have done effectively is use comedy to be memorable. And since brands have figured out that they can't use sex to sell any more (read more about that here), humour becomes the best way to leave an impression. There were other ads that attempted to be impactful without comedy but in comparison, just weren't as effective (see Lexus and Dodge Ram).

​So without further ado, here are the 5 best commercials from Super Bowl 2018:
  

This ad works because its portrayal of the insensitive rich dude is funny. But it's even more effective because the message is crystal clear: Buy local. 

Also, Tiffany Haddish's laugh at the end is the BEST.
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E*Trade continues its dominance of Super Bowl advertising (one of the all-time best Super Bowl ads came from E*Trade 10 years ago) with this gem. It's funny, but like Groupon, made its point loud and clear: Too few people have enough saved to retire. It's not exactly clear how E*Trade solves that problem, but the ad still served its primary purpose.
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Good on Chris Pratt, who is perfectly self-deprecating in this ad that reminds us quite effectively that if you care about fitness, Michelob Ultra is your choice.
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The one-liners and funny bits in this ad just roll along hilariously, making it memorable (and re-watchable in my case). Throughout the first 50 seconds of this minute-long ad, you're left wondering what the point is. But that's just one more advertising tactic that they execute perfectly to get your attention. Then at the end they reveal the connection and better yet, tie it directly to the Super Bowl itself, reminding the viewer that they are important. Four top advertising tricks (comedy, suspense, message delivery and viewer appreciation) all rolled up in one tidy package. Well played, Febreze.
  

Tide has accomplished a feat that I don't think I've witnessed, ever: They made ALL the commercials about THEM! A feat, indeed.

THE LESSON FOR MARKETERS:

If you're making an ad (any kind of ad, not just a Super Bowl commercial), the 3 most important objectives are:

1. Make it memorable (helps if it's funny)
2. Get the message across (and keep it simple)
3. Connect your brand to the message (doesn't help if they don't remember you specifically, does it)

YOUR TURN:

Which ads not on this list did you like, and why?

There are hundreds of candidates for "world's best logo", particularly when there are hundreds of opinions about what makes a logo great. One of the frontrunners, though, would surely be the FedEx logo (left). Many marketing and design professionals (myself included) recognize that the negative-space arrow in the logo between the "E" and the "x" make it truly special (many would call it the best logo for that reason). Not only is the logo simple and recognizable on its own (which every logo should be), but it goes a step further by using design to offer supplemental meaning. In this case, a subtle arrow that represents movement and even speed - an association that surely enhances FedEx's brand message.

Global Fund for Women has also accomplished that same elusive feat with their logo (above). Do you see it? The two purple dashes help outline the letter "E" of course, but they also create the mathematical equality sign ("="), which also happens to be the primary cause of the organization (equality)! Genius!

This logo is simple and recognizable (the prerequisite for design quality), but has also introduced a subtle design element that adds a powerful, supplemental meaning. In my opinion, that makes the logo equal in stature (see what I did there?) to the FedEx logo. Well done!

LESSON FOR MARKETERS:

Your logo should be simple and recognizable. That's the minimum requirement. And many high-profile logos are just that (think Nike, Apple, Pepsi). If, however, you can take it a step further by introducing meaning that strengthens your brand message, that's what makes your logo exceptional! 

YOUR TURN:

What other logos are exceptional (because of the presence of supplemental meaning)? Comment below.

P.S.:

You should donate to the Global Fund for Women. They're doing some great things over there.

Those who know me best know that I have a bias against domestic manufacturers. There is plenty of evidence to support my belief that Hondas are worth the extra money. More on that in a future blog, I'm thinking. But in the meantime, I need to give credit where credit is due. This is a BRILLIANT idea from Ford.

Ford created a crib that rumbles and vibrates, simulating a car ride. How cool is that?! Those with children don't need to be told how helpful that would be when trying to get a baby to sleep in the middle of the night.

Sure, it's a great idea on its own. But what makes the idea especially great is that Ford apparently reads this blog (I'm sure they do, right?) and has realized that (as I have been saying for a long time) in a crowded, highly competitive market (like the automobile market), the more creative or memorable you can be, the more likely you are to create brand awareness and recall when it's needed most: when it comes time to shop for an automobile. Who knows if anyone will buy this crib. But who cares, really? This is an extremely unique idea that bings the Ford brand to the forefront. The bigger point is that no other car company thought of it before they did.

Well done Ford.  (Honda, you let me down!)

LESSON FOR MARKETERS:

I can't emphasize enough the importance of doing something unique and memorable, especially in markets that are highly competitive. Make brainstorming a part of your day-to-day, and create an environment where unique, or even odd ideas are welcome.

YOUR TURN:

Can you think of any other examples of companies that did something truly unique that made their brand more memorable?  Let's hear it!  

Yesterday the Toronto Maple Leafs revealed their new logo for the upcoming season, which is its Centennial season. It is "inspired by" the version seen on the jerseys from the 40's through the 60's and makes multiple references to the team's history. There are 31 points on the leaf, representing the year the team moved into Maple Leaf Gardens. There are also 13 veins at the top, representing the number of Stanley Cups won (I guess we're just supposed to ignore the veins at the bottom... or assume those are reserved for future Cups, whenever they might arrive). 

I can't decide how I feel about the new logo, since I believe they got part of it right and part of it wrong.

WHAT THEY GOT WRONG

It's old! They introduced it as their "new" logo, but it looks just like their old logo. Can they really call it new? A logo redesign is meant to inject vibrancy and excitement into a brand, but this logo does nothing, really, but regress to a previous version. No one will be excited or inspired. It won't lead to as many new apparel sales, since the older generation of fans probably still has an old version of the logo somewhere, and the younger generation of fans wants something flashy and cool. Some might even call this redesign... dare I say it... lazy.

WHAT THEY GOT RIGHT

Iconic, time-tested brands are not supposed to mess with their logo. It's too important, and it carries too much equity. The Gap got absolutely roasted when they deviated from their iconic mark, and some of the most established brands in the world, including Nike, Coca Cola and Ford, have recognized the importance of maintaining the design and heritage of their brand mark through the years. Toronto realized that if they came out with something that deviated too far from the brand mark that fans have come to know and love, they would do themselves a disservice. Interestingly, each of the "Original 6" NHL teams (Toronto, Boston, Chicago, New York, Detroit and Montreal) haven't really touched their logos, probably for the same reasons.

YOUR TURN

What do you think? Did they do the right thing, or miss an opportunity?

   

In my previous blog post, I listed the top 10 marketing highlights from 2015. In it, I (among other things) congratulate a brand -- Big Ass Fans -- that very cleverly poked fun at Kim Kardashian and her.... um.... well, let's leave it at that. Hoping that it might be an interesting post for business owners interested in marketing their business, I decided to post it on Facebook and boost the post with some advertising dollars. The image that I assigned to the Facebook post (shown above) was of her bare back (only!). According to Facebook's advertising guidelines, that was too much skin. I chose the image because my Facebook post described the blog post as "A look back at the marketing topics that are important...", and Kim Kardashian is looking back at the camera. See what I did there? Alas, the ad wasn't approved, and I had to change the Facebook post image to something far less clever.

It got me thinking, though, of the difference between Facebook and print media when it comes to marketing and advertising. On one hand you have Facebook who earned $16 billion in advertising revenue in 2015. On the other hand you have traditional print media (including magazines), who are suffering unprecedented declines in advertising revenue. This gives Facebook the flexibility and authority it needs to insist that advertising be done the proper way. This makes print media desperate for whatever ad revenue it can scrape together. Case in point: the Kim Kardashian image I am referring to is from a recent edition of Paper magazine who, as I'm sure you know, resorted to sexism for their cover photo and to full frontal nudity on the pages inside. It was clearly a desperate move to boost circulation, which would presumably attract advertisers.

Four thoughts on the matter:

1. Shame on you, Paper magazine. Desperation does not become you.
2. Shame on you, Kim Kardashian, but that's a given, isn't it?
3. Facebook, love 'em or hate 'em, has created an advertising channel that is the most efficient and effective channel I can think of, with the possible exception of Google Adwords. They rule advertising, for good reason, and we should be happy to have the opportunity to use it to our advantage. Sure, we need to follow their rules, but at least they have boundaries... and morals (well, some at least).
4. It makes me sad when brands resort to desperate measures to grasp at revenue they don't deserve. Evolve. Create something valuable to people, not cheaply sensational.

LESSON FOR MARKETERS

1. If you're not advertising on social media, you should. At least experiment with it.
2. Ignore the trends in your industry at your peril. Paper magazine should have evolved. Black's Photography suffered a similar fate.

YOUR TURN

Am I too much of a Facebook apologist? Am I overly critical of print?    

A lot of really interesting things happened in the world of marketing in 2015. If you read this blog or follow us on social media, we talked about most of them. But I'm under no illusion that you read every post, so now that we're heading into a brand new year, I thought I would take a look back and pick out the 10 posts that I really hope you read at the time. They are (in no particular order) important things to know for business owners and marketers alike, and they'll help you be the best marketer you can be in 2016!

Enjoy!  Discuss!  Debate!  Comment!  Share!

1) Stop using social media to talk about yourself. Look at your posts. Would you really say those things? 

Look back at your social media posts from the past year and imagine that you were actually saying those things, in real life, to real people. My guess is you probably won't like what you hear. Social media is real conversation with real people. Keep that in mind with every post. Mashable, if you know them, is really good at this. Click here to read more.

2) Web design has changed. Drastically. It's gone minimalist!

It's almost like web designers across the globe are in a secret contest to see who can create the home page with the biggest image and the fewest words. For good reason though! Hubspot is bang-on with their analysis of the latest design trends (read it here). How does your web site compare? 

3) Advertising that taps into the social conversation has much greater reach and impact. 

Advertising used to be about saying to people what you wanted them to hear. It's still about that to some extent, but if you can, instead, tap into the social commentary at all, it not only resonates better, but it makes you look like you're connected to your audience (rather than spewing ad copy that was written in some ivory tower). Case in point: this Salvation Army ad that connected their message to the craze that was the "what-colour-is-the-dress?" debate. Well played.  

4) Simpler is better. If you can't explain what you do in really simple terms, you won't get anyone to listen.

Einstein once said "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough". This is so true, especially as it pertains to your offer. How do you expect to get anyone to talk about you if you can't make it easy for them to understand what it is that you do? Read more about this here.

5) Social media is better for listening than for talking. So few businesses know this.

Businesses are notorious for talking about themselves on social media. That's fine to a certain extent, since it raises brand awareness and leads to purchase consideration. But social media is a more valuable tool for listening. Nowhere is it easier to listen to what people are talking about. People like your customers, your competitors, industry experts, business partners, subject matter experts, and so on. Are you listening (and learning) at least as much as you're talking? Listen to what Marketing Profs has to say about this topic (here). They are so wise!

6) The more clever you are, the more memorable you are. Just ask Big Ass Fans.

Big Ass Fans won the internet in February when they cleverly poked fun at the Kim Kardasian Paper Magazine cover which accentuates her prominent... well... you know... posterior. I had even more to say about their brilliance in this post, but the point is that they were really clever. Now that you've seen this, I dare you to forget it (you won't be able to). I also dare you to forget the name of their company. 

7) Brilliant design also makes you memorable. Just ask Sonos.

Check out the logo below from Sonos, a company that makes speakers. Notice what happens when you scroll up and down. Pure genius. Now I dare you to forget the name of this speaker brand. 

8) Superbowl ads are a bargain at $4.5 million per 30-second spot. Yes, you heard me right. 

Alright, alright. I know you don't have $4.5 million for ONE TV ad. But the point of this post is that advertising is mostly a numbers game. Once you've identified who your target audience is, figure out where they spend their time. Then find all the advertising opportunities in that area and calculate the cost-per-impression. For the sake of illustration, let's assume there are 5 different magazines that are circulated to your target audience. For each magazine, what is the circulation, and what is the cost to advertise? That's your cost-per-impression. The magazine with the lowest cost-per-impression gets your advertising dollars (the same logic applies to cost-per-click advertising). With advertising, especially digital advertising, the math is simple, so use it to your advantage and optimize your spend (rather than spending on whatever advertising opportunity happens to be in front of you that day). In the case of Superbowl advertisers like Coca-Cola and Budweiser, they know their target audience is watching the game, and they know how many of them will see their ad. For them, $4.5 million is a bargain at twice the price (the math is explained in the post).  

9) Target was destined to fail in Canada, because nobody had any good reason to shop there, really. 

Sadly, Target folded after a very short stint in this great country of ours. But the reason for their failure was simple: they offered consumers nothing that Walmart didn't already offer, and Walmart was already here. We, as human beings, are fundamentally resistant to change, so why would we change where we shop when there's no difference between the shops? Target, in their arrogance, didn't fully understand this before making their decision to expand. Click here to read more about the importance of having something different or unique to offer. 

10) To close out our list, just remember to be interesting! Especially on social media. Boring sucks.

Marketing Profs (them again!) wrote a great piece about social media strategy for businesses. In it, they implore you to stop being boring! I couldn't agree more. And it's really that simple.

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YOUR TURN

What do you think are the big marketing topics from 2015? I'd love to hear them!