Since the 49th Super Bowl is tomorrow, I thought I should write about it. There are so many great public relations and marketing opportunities during the Super Bowl. Although, I feel that sometimes companies try to come up with the most entertaining commercial instead of really showing off its values and what the company stands for.
Super Bowl ad spots are a great way for big-time companies to show what they have to offer and also for smaller companies to make a great first impression. As we look through the years of Super Bowl commercials, there are always a few that stick in our minds. I will be discussing some of my favorite commercials and why they created such a great impact.
Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing the Macintosh Computer
This commercial has an eerie feeling to it and I think that’s why I like it so much. This commercial is what started the hype for Super Bowl Commercials. It’s memorable, tells a story about the company and makes the viewers excited beyond belief for what will come in March, 1984.
Volkswagen 2012 Super Bowl Commercial
Volkswagen made this commercial very playful with the child, costume and music. Owning a Volkswagen myself, driving one is playful. It’s a very fun car to drive and the commercial plays off of that. This commercial was only from three years ago, but when Super Bowl 2012 is brought up in conversation, I think this is one of the most memorable commercials.
Doritos 2013 Super Bowl Commercial
Doritos is notorious for creating fun and playful ads and this one is definitely among their top commercials. If I remember correctly, there was a contest for who could create the best Doritos commercial and this won. That’s another great way to develop a commercial that you know the audience will like. Let them vote for which one will air.
Budweiser Clydesdale 2013 Super Bowl Commercial
Instead of showing men watching sports drinking Budweiser, this commercial took more of an emotional route. It wants the audience to feel something and causing those feelings causes us to remember them. If we can associate a product or service with certain feelings and emotions, the ad did it’s job. Whether we are happy, sad, offended or angry, it causes us to remember the commercial.
Dodge Ram 2013 Super Bowl Commercial
As discussed above, this commercial is another one that uses emotion. There aren’t many car commercials that use this tactic to this extent. It shows you the farmers in photographs and some of them also have the Ram featured. I think it’s a great view of the farmers’ lifestyles and and really makes you feel something by watching it.
I will post next week discussing the 2015 Super Bowl commercials; the good and the bad.
Confessions of A Twenty-Something 
As a person who doesn’t follow sports, the Superbowl is not really high on my priority list. However, I do like to watch parts of it so that I can see the commercials. I think that all the ads you have listed here are great examples of successful Superbowl commercials. These companies were able to entertain audiences while also sending out their messages and building relationships with key publics. The 1984 ad was aired 31 years ago and people are still talking about it, I think that shows how successful and impactful it was in the area of advertising. I think that by looking to these organizations for guidance, other organizations can be just as effective in sending out their messages to mass audiences.