Superbowl-ads.com Article Archive

Definition 6, an integrated interactive agency, today announced the launch of the Coca-Cola “Happiness Machine” video. Coca-Cola selected Definition 6 to develop a video for viral distribution that would tie into its recently launched ‘Open Happiness’ global advertising campaign.

“We were looking for a creative way to connect with teens outside of the typical TV commercial or online game,” said A.J. Brustein, Global Senior Brand Manager, Coca-Cola. “We wanted to give them something that would spread a bit of happiness and something they could pass on to their friends to keep the happiness flowing.”
The “Happiness Machine” campaign features a Coca-Cola vending machine transformed to deliver small “doses” of happiness for unsuspecting college students, in the form of everything from flowers and pizza, to 6-foot subs and balloon animals.

If you look at the Super Bowl advertisement hype, which seems to triple each year, it almost makes the 30-second spots seem worth the 40 bajillion dollars that companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi will be paying for them in 2008.

And with so many iconic moments in the past 3 1/2 decades, it’s becoming more socially acceptable to admit you prefer the commercials to the game – especially the 52-10 blowout between the New England Patriots and New York Giants that we’re about to watch on Sunday afternoon. Have we reached the point where popular culture has become part of American history? And if so, should Super Bowl ads be taught in every classroom?

THEY say time and tide wait for no man, but Tide has waited a long time to be advertised on the Super Bowl. Soon, Tide, the biggest detergent brand in America — sold by the biggest advertiser in America — will appear for the first time on the biggest day for advertising in America.

Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide, has bought time during the Fox Broadcasting coverage of Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 for a commercial for the Tide to Go instant stain remover. The 30-second spot, by Saatchi & Saatchi in New York, part of the Publicis Groupe, is scheduled to appear in the game’s second quarter.

Anheuser-Busch scores points for some clever spots, but most ad critics think this year’s big commercials were underwhelming.

By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Boring. Poorly executed. Unmemorable.

These words could not only be used to describe the action that took place on the football field during Super Bowl XLI Sunday night but also the uber-hyped commercials that aired during the big game.

Several advertising experts said Sunday night that, with a few exceptions, most of the commercials were disappointing. So it looks like many corporations may have wasted the $2.6 million that CBS was said to be charging for 30 seconds of ad time.

“This was not a banner year for Super Bowl ads. Nothing really stood out,” said Steve McKee, president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, an agency that runs Adbowl, a site that tracks opinions about Super Bowl commercials.

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

Anheuser-Busch continued its Super Bowl ad supremacy with a commercial that pure and simple made folks smile.

For a record ninth-consecutive year, the beer giant won USA TODAY’S exclusive Ad Meter real-time consumer focus group ranking of Super Bowl commercials.

The winning ad featured a group of computer-generated crabs on the beach bowing down at the altar of an ice chest filled with Budweiser. The red chest with two Buds for antennae looks like a giant crab — which a crab army worships as the sun sets behind it. That’s the kind of gentle, visual humor folks apparently wanted most this year.

By John Kreiser

(CBS/AP) Katie Crabb says she constantly struggles to speak up and get her ideas across.

But executives at Chevrolet liked what they heard — and for the past four months, this self-described shy 19-year-old has kept a $2.6 million secret: She’s a big-time advertising guru.

Crabb won a nationwide competition for college students sponsored by Chevrolet to design a 30-second commercial for the company’s new line of crossover cars.

Chevrolet aired the ad during the Super Bowl, an event watched as much for the commercials as for the game itself. The average price for a 30-second spot during the game, which was broadcast Sunday on CBS, is $2.6 million.

by Chris Arnold

Coaches have been fine tuning their strategies for Sunday’s Super Bowl. Advertisers have a lot at stake as well. With the biggest TV audience of the year, companies will do whatever they can to get your attention.

In the race to win consumer awareness, though, some advertisements can go too far. GoDaddy.com is a company that offers a variety of Web services, including the registration of Web site names. GoDaddy.com’s ad is full of sexual jokes. Bob Parsons, the companies CEO, says that’s why CBS rejected it.

“They didn’t like the double entendres,” Parsons said. “And they didn’t like the word ‘pervert.’”

GoDaddy.com received a lot of attention for a previous ad that got pulled halfway through the Super Bowl. The ad, featuring an actress who showed a lot of cleavage, aired once. But it was pulled from its second Super Bowl slot.

When the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts run onto the field at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium for Super Bowl XLI, each will have a strategy to win the big game. And along with those NFL teams, a number of corporations are betting up to $2.6 million per 30-second advertisement that their strategy also will be a winning one, according to a University of Delaware professor with expertise in Super Bowl advertising.

“We know that one team will win and one will lose, but there will also be winners and losers in the high stakes competition among the companies that bought TV’s most expensive ad time,” John Antil, associate professor of business administration, said. “We know the teams involved, but we still do not know all the companies who will be gambling they have the best strategy.”

Gary Detman NEW YORK (AP) — There’s one place where you can find both FedEx, the overnight package delivery service, and “Fed-Ex,” or Kevin Federline, the future ex-husband of pop diva Britney Spears. Both will be making appearances in Super Bowl ads, the highest-profile advertising event of the year.

Chevy invited college students nationwide to submit ideas for a Super Bowl ad featuring Chevy’s new line of cars and crossovers.

Chevy says more than 800 teams from some 200 schools applied.

Judges used these criteria: creativity and originality, 50 percent; relevance to theme, 40 percent; and clarity of expression, 10 percent.

The winning ad, created by a student team and produced by Chevrolet, will air during Super Bowl XLI this Sunday, on CBS. The Early Show will interview the winning team live on Monday, Feb. 5.