Monday, January 24, 2011

Old School Super Sunday


Super Sunday is shaping up for 2011.  We are now set for a classic “old school” match between storied teams seeking their latest claim to the Lombardi Trophy:  Packers versus Steelers. 

The teams feature strong quarterbacks: one established, the other ascending. Both teams play with strength and agility.

From the audience perspective, it is the East Coast versus the Midwest, with the West Coast drawn in by the California origins of the Packers QB.  Audience projections are as high as 110 million viewers for the big game.

And, the economy is on the rise with a full card of Super Bowl commercials for which some have paid as much as $3 million for 30 seconds.  

All this means there will be lots of football talk leading to the big game in two weeks.

Much of the suspense will be about advertising creativity.

Super Bowl advertising is all about “the reward theory of communication” where brands compete to garner favor by being highly entertaining.

Brands such as E-trade and CareerBuilder.com have captured recent attention on Super Sundays employing talking babies and fooling around with monkeys.  It is borrowed interest that plays to their product benefits of ease of use and escape from less desirable working conditions.

Budweiser is the “old school” favorite. The King of Beers has long been the king of Super Bowl advertising.

It will be interesting to see if Bud can take the creative crown back this year schooling us with yet another new way to leverage their powerful brand equity.

(As it turned out, Bud settled for slap-stick stunts; and kissed their brand symbols good-bye).

Copyright © 2011 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

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