Super Bowl Commercials that featured a new way of doing things gained – and kept – the attention of viewers for months on end, increasing brand awareness and potential sales. The marketing experts at CastleCS took a look at some of the most iconic Super Bowl commercials and parsed out why these commercials were so successful.
#1. Macintosh 1984 : Apple
CastleCS comments: You don’t need to know about George Orwell’s novel (“1984”) or its totalitarian government because the 1984 Apple Super Bowl commercial creates its own drone-heavy society and doesn’t alienate any of its viewers. However, the tie-in with a popular subject matter almost guarantees that a commercial will gain more attention from viewers.
#2. When I Grow Up : Monster.com
CastleCS comments: Super Bowl commercials are usually over-the-top and funny. The 1999 Super Bowl commercial for job search engine Monster.com is sophisticated and depressing. In fact, it’s really a brilliant call to action directed at an audience that’s watching a Super Bowl Game – an audience that wants to be entertained – and the more serious tone of the Monster.com commercial practically ensures that it’s going to stand out from the other Super Bowl commercials.
#3. 9/11 Tribute : Budweiser
CastleCS comments: Budweiser’s iconic Clydesdale horses are really the stand-out in a commercial that’s less about the product and more about social responsibility. However, we do have one criticism for Budweiser: the horses are showing their respect for the city of New York, but the team drivers don’t even take off their hats. Everything in a commercial has to come together for it to be completely effective.
#4. Herding Cats : EDS
CastleCS comments: Interesting Super Bowl commercials, and commercials in general, that play on expressions and analogies may be common now, but back in 2000, EDS brought together a fantastic marketing campaign – “herding cats isn’t easy, neither is managing digital communications, but we can do it and do it well” – and delivered it with the CGI technology that was just coming into play in commercials, making it one of the most successful Super Bowl commercials all of times.
#5. Pug Attack : Doritos
CastleCS comments: You might not be impressed by this 2010 Doritos Super Bowl commercial until you hear it was created by amateurs. Doritos hosted a Create Our Super Bowl Commercial contest and successfully ran non-professional Super Bowl commercials that gained attention and did a good job of marketing Doritos. Great ideas don’t always have to cost a lot (putting aside the cost of Super Bowl commercial air time).
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