Superbowl Ad Nauseam

The Superbowl game itself turned out to be a classic.  Very entertaining, even if both teams gave up way too many peanalties.  However, the real game (the one for your wallets) was probably the worst in the game's history.  And there are two main reasons why marketers should change their strategy to make these 30 second budget drains into something special.  

First, the formula is tired.  Back in the day, Superbowl comercials were an outlet for extremely creative people to come up with very funny, very outragious skits.  In my lifetime, I can remember dozens of ads that were sincerely memorable.  But we are now on Superbowl 43.  43!  So much of this has already been done.  My god, there was an ad last night with Monkeys in it.  The agency that pitched that reatread should be shot.  

Secondly, You Tube has made 'funny' in commercials absolutely obsolete.  Back in the golden age (oh, 5-6 years ago), if you were a taleted creative, commercials - and especially Superbowl commercials - were your chance to shine.  Now, each and every one of us gets bombarded with amazingly hilarious clips each week from our friends.  The social aspect makes us like these pass-alongs even more since they come from people we know and trust.  I think America is getting sick of ad agencies telling us what is funny.  My in-box is already filled with stuff that blows anything away from Sunday.

So, how do you make it better?  What needs to change?  It's not just slapping your URL at the end of a spot to be 'digital'.  You need to make the commercial into an actionable event that will keep people talking.  And the only ad that hit a grand slam last night was Denny's.  FREE BREAKFAST FOR AMERICA!  That's a pretty amazing message.  The ads were funny enough to draw you in, and then give you the best news you could have possibly received if you didn't have any skin on the game between the two teams.  Don't believe me?  Check out the searches after the superbowl on google:

Denny's got it right.  2 of the top 8 searches involved this giveaway.  They engaged all of us watching, and got a ton of people to at least find out where their closest one is.  I searched myself and found out I have two that I pass on my way to work every day.  I had no idea.  That was how invisible Denny's was to me.  Now I can point them out on the highway.  And for their marketing team, they have measureable data to show just how successful their buy was.  And measuremnt is power and freedom to try the next idea.  Even at Superbowl ad prices, that's a hell of a deal for their brand.