What marketers can learn from Super Bowl advertising
(even if they don’t have $7 million to spend on a 30-second ad spot)
This year’s Super Bowl was a record-setting one—drawing in an estimated 126 million viewers (approximately 3 million more than last year) and costing advertisers (at least) a whopping $7 million for a 30-second commercial spot.
Yep. $7 million.
That’s 55% more than 2019.
That’s also a reach of approximately 18 people per dollar spent (5.5 cents per person).
Compare that to the average TikTok CPM (cost for 1000 impressions) of $9.16 (0.009 cents per person) and the average Instagram CPM of $8.58 (0.0085), and Super Bowl ads feel a little pricey even at the per-person scale. That said, our TikTik or Instagram ads are way less likely to make best ad lists on massive platforms like Vogue, become memes, or turn into viral sensations, too.
But I digress.
For most of our marketing departments, the $7 million price tag is out of reach. So weighing the pros and cons isn’t a particularly helpful way to spend our time.
What is always helpful is looking at the lessons our big-budget counterparts are experiencing on a national stage. So what can those of us with startups, growing businesses, or niche audiences learn from the big ad wins of Super Bowl season?
Here are three lessons we think are resonant at any budget:
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Choose more frequent exposure over longer exposure
It’s a truth universally acknowledged in marketing that the more exposure customers have to your products, the more likely they are to reach for them on a (virtual or physical) shelf.
Known as the mere exposure effect, this insight comes to us from a 1968 study that concluded that people have more positive feelings about familiar things—and that familiarity simply requires repeated exposure.
Which is why author and keynote speaker Roger Dooley insightfully points out (via Forbes) that companies would do better to spend their money on more frequent, shorter ads rather than splurging on one of the 90-second ($20 million) Super Bowl spots.
Outside the Super Bowl, this truth still rings true. Instead of spending our whole marketing budget on a big-ticket push, a web of connected efforts and constant exposure is more likely to reap the rewards we’re after.
Notably, this is not the right strategy if your brand is facing down the barrel of a PR disaster. The mere exposure effect works best with products that have no negative associations, and when the consumer isn’t even really aware they’re seeing the product (which is part of why getting a book on a shelf in the background of an SNL skit or a branded drink in the hand of a celebrity in an iconic photo are such massive wins).
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Emotion (still, always) sells
Every year, there are a few standout ads that leave people breathless because they hit on a universal human emotion.
This year, Google Pixel knocked it out of the park, showing us the journey of fatherhood as it relates to learning not only life but work skills. Dove showed up with their always-relevant true beauty campaign. And Nike filled us with pride and motivation with their “So Win” ad.
It’s always important to re-center ourselves in the truth that people buy (both on the B2C and B2B side of things) for emotional reasons. Trust. Care. A feeling that a brand aligns with our values. That they’ll show up in the world how we want to show up in the world. That they stand with us.
Ads that take this truth into account do better, reach farther, get more shares, and win more loyalty—whether on a national stage or a local one.
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Keep it weird
We’ve said it before (and before, and before), and we’ll say it again:
Unless your brand is a bank or emergency service, people love weird ads. They tickle the novelty-seeking parts of our brains. They grab our difficult-to-come-by attention spans. They stand out in an ever-more-crowded market.
There’s a reason Uber Eats’ conspiracy theory ad racked up this year’s industry accolades. There’s also a reason Dunkin Donuts brought back their relentlessly silly DunKings for a second year. Ads that don’t take themselves too seriously, ads that give us a break from the stressors of our lives, ads that make fun…they work.
In summary
The foundations of the winning Super Bowl ads are the same foundations that all good advertising stands on. And when we think about winning big with our own strategies this year, that’s what we’re focused on: standing on tried-and-true foundations with our strategies even as we stretch ourselves with new tactics, technologies, and channels.
And if you need some help with your strategic foundations (or emotional, weird, and tech-forward advertising tactics), we’re always just an email away.
