Last night was the long awaited Super Bowl and whether you happened to be rooting for the Saints or for the Colts or didn't care one way or another, I hope you watched and paid very close attention…to the ads.
In order to become an effective marketer, you must become a student of culture. And watching (and playing close attention to) the Super Bowl ads is a pretty good way to get a clue into how the big boys do it. Advertisers paid up to $3 million for a 30-second spot and that doesn't include the money they paid for creative and production. So you can bet that they were highly motivated to give it their best shot. Most made a good effort (CareerBuilder) and some wasted their money (Boost Mobile).
I watched closely and picked up a few things. I'm going to take what were my favorite three spots and evaluate them and tell you why I thought they worked and what you can learn from their example. So, here we go with #3. The Dodge Charger "Man's Last Stand."
Why does this work? Because the producers of this commercial understand their audience. Even though more women probably watch the Super Bowl than most other football games, it's undeniably a man's audience and Dodge certainly gets that. I'm also glad to see that they didn't stoop to the typical stuff for guys like women in tight clothing (Go Daddy) or other guys getting hit in the groin.
In this spot, Dodge takes the time and the care to resonate with men. They've also done a good job of paying attention to the culture. What are men thinking about these days? Listen to the copy. All the talk of powerlessness. Brilliant copy. (Remember…everything starts with good writing!) In these economic times, guys are feeling increasingly less in charge of their own destinies. Add to that the feminization of our society and you get a guy who is just trying to make the others in his life happy. He's working hard to do the right thing. He's oppressed, repressed, and in some cases depressed. (I'm not saying this is truth…I'm just saying it's how a lot of guys feel).
So, the spot begins by presenting a problem that the audience can identify with. Then, right on time, Dodge presents the solution. Here's one thing you can have control over. Here's one place in your life you can feel some power. You can own a muscle car. The Dodge Charger, can be your "Man's Last Stand." Sure you do this, this and that to fit in and to get by. But you do those things so you can drive the car you want to drive. Great commercial.
So, what did we learn? Identify with the problem, question, or dilemma that your audience is feeling. Then, slide in the solution and why your solution is the only one to consider.
Tomorrow, spot #2.
I actually kind of had a problem with this ad. Actually, with the tone of the Superbowl ads as a whole. I guess I’m used to the objectification of women, but I was really taken aback by the outright anti-women message of this year. So many of the ads were about breaking free of what’s holding you down, and invariably, “what’s holding you down” was a woman. In the past, they’ve stuck it to the man, or broken out of boring routines, but this year the message seemed to be that women will castrate you, and the only answer is to buy something that says, “I am driven by testosterone and nothing else!”
You’re right Molly. These ads definitely appeal to the most basic instincts. And since they are targeted to men, it’s fairly predictable what those basic instincts are. I guess the one big surprise is that there were no ads featuring guys getting kicked in the groin.