Superbowl Commercials were 4 million dollars for 30 seconds. Good value?

Superbowl commercials cost an average of 4 million usd for 30 seconds. But of course, the build-up on Social media and the 'excitement' that a new commercial brings, means that these Ads get a reach far beyond the showing on the night.

This year the controversy around Scarlett Johansson's commercial for Sodastream, shows how that impact can be extended. It made the front pages of a lot of newspapers and TV/Social media comment. Most advertisers release ads, about the ads, as previews to gain Social Media traction.

Doritos of course, get fans to write their Superbowl commercials, giving the campaign "legs" before airing.

Justifying the return is tough without that level of cut-through because the spots are expensive (Budweiser took 2 x 60 second spots this year = circa 16 million usd) so you have to grab the opportunity as Apple did in 1984.

Newcastle Brown Ale (you'll see it on this blog below) actually captured the Superbowl hype without having a commercial in the game. Real guerrilla tactics.

The top 5 Advertisers in the last 5 years are Budweiser, Pepsi, Hyundai, Chrysler and Coke in that order by expenditure. Interesting data from The Financial Times which shows that in order to get a return on that investment, Coke would need to sell 5.7m cans...but I think there's a point too about brand. They need to be seen as having a presence at The Superbowl in order to be quintessentially, pro-American.

Can the heritage of Budweiser for example, not be in The Superbowl?
It's a brand that's all part of Americana.

But is it worth it? 
You better believe it when it's done cleverly.

In some ways, The Superbowl is a must have for brands that need the endorsement of American culture. It's more than just spot-buying, rather, an involvement in American society. 

Coke. A real good example of a story well told using online video. Terrific.

Not a big fan of Coke (which is like giving a compliment with one hand and taking it away with the other) because of the high level of sugar which damages kids. There's an average of 11 cubes of sugar in a can of Coke.

But I am a big fan of the type of activity that Coke have done to market themselves. Like the surprise of spreading a little happiness on a grey day as the video shows. It's a great little idea.

What's more too, is the video production which is super, although I don't know who made it. 

It gets across the spirit of the day using gentle cutaways of people being happy in an almost 'secret filming' way and yet it tells the story of the greenery being rolled out. Like every good online video, it should have a start, a middle and an end.

The music track is ideal and certainly feels "commissioned" rather than stock library music. It builds brilliantly.

The reveal of the bottle shape at the end leaves something for the viewer coupled with a lovely end graphic which was not cheap to do, I can tell you.

So a great story, well told.

And a great story to "share" as I am doing with you, which is the whole point of video. Nearly 60,000 personal up close views, in 2 days. That's real one-to-one marketing.

So it's a classic example of online video doing a great job for Coke. Exactly the way video was intended to be used. Little bit of trouble, little bit of thinking and you get something that's viewable and shareable.

Good for Coke. Pass it on.

There's 38 sugar cubes in a supersize Coke and so Coke are facing bans. So they do a TV Ad to respond. And it makes things worse. When Advertising backfires.

New York's Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, promised last spring that he'd ban the sales of big, supersized sugary drinks (portion control), school bans on dispensers of them and possibly increase a sales tax on them. 

He had already completed the ban on smoking and this is his new challenge - obesity.

The average American drinks 45 Gallons of soft drinks a year.....sugary sodas are the single largest source of calories in the American diet. A regular Coke has the equivalent of 27 sugar cubes in it. And the supersize Big Gulp? 38 sugar cubes. 36% of Americans are obese and are estimated to cost 147 billion usd in medical care. 

So last year, New York started an advertising campaign aimed at anti-soft drinks in a campaign to tackle obesity and diabetes. In other words, they took on Coke, whom have been described as the "seller of liquid candy". Which they are and over which there should be no dispute.

The 75 Billion usd soft drink industry, fronted by Coke, has now launched its response and industry lobbyists have taken to court to block Bloomberg's plans on the ban as well as an Ad campaign of their own. And this response will in fact, do the industry more harm than good. 

Their is a growing backlash against the company by consumers and outrage fuelled by their very own TV Commercial. It's like tobacco companies whom when faced with an Ad ban, came out to explain that cigarettes were not linked to cancer - and produced medical quacks to prove it. Coke is doing the same thing and that is really annoying people. Coke are trying to pretend that they are actually, at the forefront of doing good work on obesity. Dear, oh dear.

Frankly, I am not surprised there's a backlash. Watch this next commercial and it's just shocking where Coke is sponsoring kids breakfast clubs. Shocking and disgraceful marketing and advertising. They are going to be the authors of their own bans and demise.

They're running a two minute Ad on national TV (top of this blog) and a 30 second approach. One commercial "coming together" shows the supposed initiatives Coke has taken to address the calorie/obesity problem. Another shows the ways you can burn off the calories - like "laughing out loud" is one, I kid you not.

Against a background of slim actors sipping Coke and healthy youngsters exercising, a voice over offers a simple explanation for the growing obesity crisis in the eyes of Coke - "If you eat and drink more calories than you burn off, then you'll gain weight" goes the Coke jingoism as a woman jogs through shot. 

Pathetic? unbelievably so and any attempt to try to position Coke as being in the vanguard of obesity is just ludicrous and won't work. Is the Ad Agency thinking at all? The idea that Coke is somehow involved in the fight against childhood diabetes, just is beyond belief, whilst at the same time, like McDonald's, uses appalling marketing tricks to target kids. Like sponsoring their breakfast clubs. Jesus. It's like tobacco companies saying that they are at the forefront of tackling cancer.

Of course, by doing all of this, it is growing its own criticism, drawing more people into the debate which weren't previously. The commercial angers people and clearly it has backfired. This commercial angered me and looking at the Breakfast Clubs and this commercial, it's about time Coke got a new marketing team or proposition. They're damaging their own brand.

As a Fellow of The Institute of Advertising, a Fellow of The Marketing Institute, a former board member of the European Ad Council (EAAA) and as a former 2 term Ad Institute President, I'd support a ban on Coke in schools, an Ad ban, a ban for larger drinks and an Advertising tax, simply because Coke are both contributing to obesity AND damaging advertising. 

When you produce advertising you have a responsibility, because it is so very powerful and with that responsibility, there are things you must not do - lines you do not cross. Coke, it seems to me, could care less. They'll do whatever it takes.

European action is already underway - France taxes these drinks, Denmark taxes saturated fats, Hungary taxes hamburgers and the UK is considering a "fat tax". 

Bloomberg says that more people are going to die from obesity than smoking and he's probably right. This is not a man to be diverted and he's prepared to take on this insidious industry, head-on. Good man. 

As for Coke? 
They're eating themselves through poor planning and crass advertising execution. 

Let them.

Coke on YouTube. Super campaign gets 3+ million views since Thursday. See it here.

You may have seen the Coke "happiness" 2010 on-street campaign where a truck dispensed cans of coke to passers by with something else to cheer them up - a football, flowers etc and filmed their reaction. Kinda' candid-camera but very effective.

Now they've done it again for the launch of the James Bond movie 'Skyfall' called 'unlock the 007 in you'.

Surprising in that it was in Antwerp in Belgium, the world's second most boring city after Brussels. Apart from giving out free Coke they also sent passers by on a "mission" to get something more - limited edition tickets. The public reactions were filmed and went on YouTube getting 3 million views since Thursday - another viral with 98% 'likes'.

As the public went to get their Coke, a violinist played the James Bond theme. As they were given tasks, various obstacles were put in their way. Told, for example, to "go to platform 6", a floor cleaner blocked their way or a girl called them by their name enthusiastically (if you know what I mean). A fruit seller spilt their oranges, or a group of joggers came up the stairs at the same time. You get the idea.

It's pretty effective in giving us a smile as well as a video to pass around to friends. Using too, its 53 million Facebook fans, it has an immediate way of spreading the word. By the way, Disney by comparison, has only a paltry 38 million fans on Facebook.

The video too, then turns viewers into Facebook fans itself - an additional 400,000 last week alone.

So all in all, a good way of using video on YouTube as well as social media. And doing a great job for the brand although I don't like saying it on behalf of a brand like Coke. But fair is fair.

It points to interesting ideas online and great promotional ideas as well as avoiding the cliched and done-to-death, flash mob. Please, enough already.

Relatively inexpensive too and that adds to the whole concept.
Good ideas don't have to cost a fortune and if it brought your brand 400,000 followers a week, how else could you achieve that except online. 

Engagement.

Coke viral. This is just special. A must-see, 2.5m views already.

I'm sorry but I've nothing to add to this.
Go full screen (the little squares in the bottom right of the video) and turn up your sound, then play.


There's nothing to say except it's for Coke Latin America produced by Landia.
Supertramp Roger Hodgson's song who has tweeted that he loves it.


Like Coke, Hate Coke, it matters not. 2.5 million views, gone viral.
And it deserves to be passed on. Update today - has gone to 6m views.


(If you're interested in the way Google has brought Coke into the digital age, there's greatness here http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/03/ad-agencies-have-future-thanks-to.html featuring creative Harvey "I'd like to teach the world to sing" Gabor. Well worth it.)


Every Agency has looked at using security camera video, but never like this.
We've looked at using youtube videos, but never like this.
We've even tried to look at developing good news, but no, never like this.


Stunning. 
And this is my shortest blog ever.
It's not laziness.


It's because I'm in awe.

Advertising + Ad Agencies have a future. Google is proving it + this wins at Cannes.

Got a huge response to my post of the weekend about BBH and British Airways. I'm sure just because people wanted to view the commercial but I think also, Ad people like to admire good work. 


Interesting too, that BBH got 2nd place in Cannes as 'Ad Agency of the year' behind Wieden Kennedy. No shame there.


Just two other points about Cannes first : Jack Dorsey (I always thought if I ever wrote a detective novel, he'd be called, 'Jack Dorsey'. Just made for it), the 34 year old founder of the 6 year old Twitter, got 'Media person of the year'.


And mobile ad of the year? It's the one that's all over this blog as you read on.


What's interesting too about the BA commercial was that it premiered on Facebook and not TV - a blending of Social Media.


Now I know what you're going to say about this post because I'm asking you to view a video that's an hour long. Crazy. Who has that time? But perhaps if you want to remain inspired, you will. And it will be worth it. Maybe we all need to take an hour out every now and again to refresh our thinking.


But you know what, so many Agencies don't understand the space. This will show them how it can be used and integrated into traditional advertising. It's magic.


This is Google's "Project brief" which is about taking classic, iconic Ad campaigns of the past, with Agency people of the past, and seeing can they bring them into today. 


I've been following it and the individual/shorter clips are all here. Avis, Alka Seltzer, Volvo and the best of the all, Harvey Gabor for Coke ("I'd like to buy the world a Coke" 1971). Or I think so.


The long version on this blog brings them all together, telling each story and to the unveiling at SXSW. It is the best thing I've seen in advertising in 20 years and Google, are to be applauded (I never really liked them but this propels them in my head).


So here are the 4 individual blogs for each brand. If you're going to watch only one and not the longer video, click Coke (the first one here). But try and watch it. You'll learn from it that if we embrace the technology, we can do amazing work. To embrace the technology, we have to understand it first.


http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/03/ad-agencies-have-future-thanks-to.html
http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/04/avis-we-try-harder-agencies-have-future.html
http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/04/ad-agencies-have-future-thanks-to.html alka seltzer

http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/03/google-classic-ad-campaigns-volvo.html



Hats off Google. You've done a great job here and I hope the Ad Agencies get on board.


Mind you, The Pitch is one of the great TV programmes on-air at the moment. Terrific stuff. Does a great job in showing Ad Agencies to be intelligent thinkers rather than flaky, over paid, traditionalists.


And it's being pulled.


Oh why?
Ad Agencies won't take part in the first place + aren't watching (Nielsen ratings just above zero).


You know what? Stop giving out. We do it to ourselves.