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![TMCNet: Method to Super Bowl madness [Savannah Morning News, Ga.]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
Method to Super Bowl madness [Savannah Morning News, Ga.]
(Savannah Morning News (GA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 7--SUPER BOWL XLIV KICKS OFF at 6:28 p.m. tonight. The real competition, however, doesn't begin until seven to 10 minutes later. The first commercial break opens the contest for America's wallets. More than 35 corporations and organizations have coughed up more than $2.5 million each to pitch, entertain and intrigue in 30- to 60-second stretches during the most watched four-hour block of television of the year.
The ads will range from inspirational to irreverent, clever to baffling, memorable to forgettable. Some will have been conceived and produced by Madison Avenue's best-and-brightest, others by college students and basement-dwelling couch potatoes.
Strip away all the stars, stunts, special effects, catchy music and innuendo and what's left is the method behind the Super Bowl ad-ness.
The goal, according to the Savannah College of Art and Design's Stephen Hall, is to gain or to hold a leadership position with consumers.
"Video game developers and cell phone companies want to be there, Coke and Budweiser have to be there," Hall said. "The constant is consumers want to be associated with a winner, the popular people. Super Bowl advertisers are seen as winners."
Hall is the chair of SCAD's advertising department and the former creative director of ad giant Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. He's both witnessed and participated in the evolution of Super Bowl advertising.
And he says tonight's ads will underscore a generational shift in attitudes toward advertising.
Trending younger
Americans under age 30 -- Gen Y -- don't want to be sold to.
They have become adept at tuning out traditional advertising pitches. They want clever and entertaining; the product is secondary. The rest of American consumers -- Gen X and the baby boomers -- appreciate smart ads yet still require a relevant marketing message.
"The obtrusive ad, like the screaming car salesman, is unwelcome and is gradually being replaced by something more entertaining," Hall said. "The Super Bowl has always been a test tube for future trends in advertising, and we'll really see that this year."
Among the latest trend is interactive advertising. Several of tonight's spots, including three for Dorito's and one for CareerBuilder, will be those conceived as part of online contests. Companies encouraged the public to submit their advertising ideas or even their own spots, with the winners airing during the Super Bowl.
This approach is particularly effective with the Gen Yers, who tend to make up a majority of the contest participants.
"They get exposure with that demographic," Hall said. "And since most end up trying the product in participating in the contest, they build their customer base as well."
The latest in viral marketing will also appear in commercial breaks. Ever since Reebok scored a touchdown with the 2003 "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker" ad, which ran only once on television but was viewed more than 7 million times on the Internet, advertisers have attempted to use their Super Bowl spot as a springboard to other promotional streams.
The Web hosting and domain name company, GoDaddy.com, uses its Super Bowl ads as teasers to the Internet.
With the explosion in social networking -- again led by the Gen Yers -- expect ads to be littered with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube references.
"It's a smart way to go," Hall said. "One 30-second spot can be the key to unlocking a comprehensive ad campaign, especially with people differentiating between their computer and TV less and less."
No set formula
Another evolving ad element is the pitchman.
Celebrities don't resonate the way they once did, as evidenced by a poll Hall recently conducted among SCAD students. The current most memorable pitchman, the poll revealed, is Justin Long, better known as Mac in the "Mac vs. PC" ads.
Progressive Insurance's Flo and E-Trade's talking baby also left impressions.
Some of tonight's advertisements will still feature pop culture icons, including Danica Patrick, KISS frontman Gene Simmons, Chevy Chase, the Baldwin brothers and the Budweiser Clydesdales. But the branding trend is more toward introducing new personalities than associating with a pitchman known better for his basketball skills or her singing talents, Hall said.
The Super Bowl's most memorable ads have come in many formats, with and without a pitchman. Mean Joe Greene made a sugary beverage, Coca-Cola, a sentimental favorite while Michael Jordan and Larry Bird made vegans hunger for a Big Mac.
MasterLock, meanwhile, used different versions of the same simple ad for years -- a fired bullet unsuccessfully trying to penetrate one of the company's locks. Apple Computer's interpretation of a scene from George Orwell's novel "1984" introduced the world to the Macintosh. And a trio of croaking frogs put Bud-weis-er on the tip of every tongue.
"There's no set formula," Hall said. "Things you would think wouldn't work did, and vice versa. That's the challenge."
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Copyright (c) 2010, Savannah Morning News, Ga.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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