Coral DarbyI reviewed the most meaningful Super Bowl advertisements of the last five years. I referenced Brandwatch and their blog about the most talked-about Super Bowl ads of the past five years.
In reviewing these ads, it’s hard to find much to critique as they were designed and produced by the best marketing firms in the world and with unlimited budgets. What I found interesting is that many of the ads did not resonate with me.
Brands understand that not everyone in the vast Super Bowl audience will be their target customer, which amplifies the magnitude of these ad budgets to an almost incomprehensible level. Nevertheless, despite the staggering investment, these TV advertisements remain enjoyable. Here are my thoughts on them.
2020 – Google Assistant – campaign ‘Loretta’
This Google Assistant ad was aimed to introduce AI to everyone who has access to the internet. This was 2020, so the concept of AI was just being launched.
Appeal: This ad pulled at my heartstrings as the production quality, and the storytelling was exceptional.
Objective: The purpose of this ad was to pique people’s curiosity about AI and encourage them to start playing with the tool.
Target Market: Google hit the jackpot here as niching is irrelevant in the case of the mega search engine. Their market on this Sunday evening was global internet users.
Features/Benefits: The storytelling resonated with basically the entire global population. Most adults have experienced loss and understand the desire to retain memories and love. The ad evoked emotion like a beautifully choreographed film.
Value Proposition: Trust AI for the things that matter the most.
2021 – Mountain Dew – campaign ‘Major Melon Bottle Count’
https://adage.com/video/mtn-dew-major-melon-bottle-count
This ad was produced in true Mountain Dew style – big and bold. Based on the gigantic budget, Mountain Dew was able to engage their fans by offering an incentive to win 1 million dollars. The ad did not appeal to me, but I don’t believe I was/am their target consumer.
Appeal: The cinematography was incredible, and the juxtaposition between the animation and acting was engaging. This ad was packaged with a color scheme that had people craving a drink. The colors were delicious.
Objective: Create awareness for the launch of their new beverage, Major Melon.
Target Market: Zoomers and millennials who follow trendy brands and have an affinity for soda.
Features/Benefits: The benefit was the opportunity to win 1 million dollars.
Value Proposition: Mountain Dew is a lively, fun brand; play with us. Let’s not take life so seriously!
2022 – Coinbase – campaign ‘Floating QR Code’
What a throwback to the 90’s. The graphics and the sounds were so old school, like the classic DVD logo. This was a very risky ad, as Coinbase attempted to say a lot with very little. The risk paid off, and the Coinbase website briefly crashed after the advertisement was aired. Coinbase spent 14 million on this ad and experienced an excellent lift, but the ad did not yield long-term results.
Bloomberg, on February 15, 2024, ‘Coinbase posted a profit for the first time in two years after a fourth-quarter rebound in digital-asset markets lifted trading revenue, sending the shares of the largest US cryptocurrency exchange higher.’
Appeal: Honestly, I am not 100% sure. Maybe it’s how they targeted middle-aged people interested in Bitcoin. Or, perhaps, it was the use of nostalgia that drew people in. I was bored and likely used the intermission to refill my snack plate.
Objective: Get people to the website to buy Coinbase. If you signed up, you got $15 in Coinbase credit.
Target Market: Millennials and Gen Xers who love tech and have discretionary income to invest in Bitcoin.
Features/Benefits: The opportunity to test the waters with a $15 credit for creating an account on the Coinbase app.
Value Proposition: Try before you ‘really’ buy
2023 – Tubi – campaign ‘Interface Interruption’
A Super Bowl Clio recipient, this ad was so clever that it confused the viewers by making them think someone was messing with the remote and changing the channel. I love how the ad incorporated the commentators into the clip. I remember thinking to myself, what is happening? All that said, I don’t know much about Tubi and have yet to activate this streaming channel on my Smart TV.
Appeal: The creativity of this ad. It confused people which in turn engaged them. The viewers had no idea what was happening and started blaming one another for switching the channel.
Objective: To get viewers to consider Tubi as an alternative to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and other mainstream streaming channels.
Target Market: Price-sensitive streaming customers who want options but not at a high monthly fee.
Features/Benefits: My assumption on the benefit is that it is free. Alternatively, I suspect they have a high volume of ads to generate revenue.
Value Proposition: Free movies
2024 – Temu – campaign ‘Shop Like a Billionaire’
Temu ran six ads throughout the 2024 Super Bowl; I do not remember one. The reason may be that I am not their target audience. They offer all kinds of merchandise at a discounted price, and when you arrive at their website, it feels like you are strolling the aisles of Big Lots. I love to save money and admire good deals, I just tend to find this type of shopping anxiety-inducing.
Appeal: Temu’s business model is unique. They ship directly from the manufacturer to the consumer, thus cutting out the middleman and saving the end-user lots of money. The ads promoted the app and highlighted the various product categories and their miniscule prices.
Objective: To create a more extensive network of app-based shoppers
Target Market: A younger demographic. The ideal customer is between the ages of 23 and 35, who is just starting on their own and needs clothes and furnishings at a reasonable price. This consumer relies heavily on connectivity through their cell phone, not a laptop.
Features/Benefits: Shop Temu and feel like a billionaire!
Value Proposition: Lots of merchandise at a ridiculously low price.
Temu launched in 2022, and I believe the company has a tough road ahead. Companies rarely prevail when they exclusively compete on price.
I like how you narrowed your advertisements down this week Coral, I think I’m going to have to try choosing a theme to help me with later blogs!
I did not expect to tear up with the Loretta Google Assistant commercial, but here we are. I think this was a great ad to show the “out of the box” uses for AI and Google Assistant, having an advertisement of Google Assistant showing helping someone remember to turn the lights off would not have the same effect. I think the timing of this ad was crucial, as you mention a lot of the world was experiencing loss at this time, not to mention that everyone will experience aging throughout their lives.
You mentioned the number of Temu advertisements during this year’s Super Bowl, I am not an avid sports watcher but 6 expensive ads seem a bit overkill. While it could be an attempt to gain new customers, it’s also possible that it is damage control due to the recent class action lawsuits that Temu is facing regarding the misuse of users’ personal data. I found a handful of reports on this issue, but one of the most recent is from the time of the Super Bowl. After the initial craze around Temu’s introduction died down, customers started to drift away from the platform due to reports like these.
Dear Coral,
The Google advertisement was very sentimental and made me sad at the same time. For some reason, it reminded me of someone who has Alzheimer’s who is making notes of their photos and memories before forgetting them. It hit a lot of nerves as it reminded me of my grandmother, whom I lost to Alzheimer’s. That said, I think it is a great way to capture memories digitally to revisit, especially when our memories fail us for whatever reasons.
The Coinbase advertisement lost me. It was a little too minimal but also smart because it forced watchers to scan the QR code. Otherwise, you have no idea what you’re watching until the end. The use of colors was also clever and a node to pop culture.
I liked the Tubi commercial! It was short, to the point, and conveyed everything that needed to be communicated in 15 seconds. Bravo!
The Temu advertisement was catchy, and I liked their catch line: “Download the Temu app and shop like a billionaire!” I shop on Temu, and while part of their catchline might be shop like a billionaire, the quality of some of their products leaves much to be desired. I avoid all their clothing as most of it isn’t high quality. It’s polyester heaven! They have some cotton blends, but you must search hard for them. What I love about them is that they have a lot of kitchen and household products, but the vetting and research processes I use are extensive, and the shipping time can be up to a month. It is frustrating to order a product that doesn’t live up to quality, return it, and try to find what you’re looking for. They also bombard you with advertisements and misleading coupons to get you to spend more money, which is annoying.
Overall, great job!
Kindly,
Shawn Smallwood
Shawn,
Thank you so much for your comments. Also, thank you for the Temu feedback. I have never ordered from the company and now that I have read more about your experiences with them, I think I’m good. Plus, I’m so picky with my clothes I really need to try before I buy!
Cheers,
Coral
Hey Coral,
I had this comment written down in my word document but realized I never posted it, my apologies!
Your choice of using the Loretta ad and the QR ad interested me. I feel that we are all drawn to similar types of ads, however these ads are very different. The ads for Google illustrate AI and the connection with people and memories of others. I loved this ad as well as I have older grandparents that are often times forgetting the very stories they were a part of. This heartfelt ad wasn’t there to sell just a software but a feeling and it is very impactful. The other ad you had which I loved was the DVD/QR code ad. This ad triggers some nostalgia as I always waited for the ad to hit the corner, however I always wonder how that ad fared overall, but to the looks of it, it did very well.
I loved your analysis and choices and believe that your ability to outline target markets so well was impeccable.
Coral,
I love how you chose a subtopic focus for your post. Focusing on Superbowl advertisements over the past five years was a great idea, as those are well-known as some of the greatest advertisements each year and of all time. These advertisements you have selected show a wide range of different approaches to capture the target audience’s attention. The motivating factors discussion, like emotional resonance, monetary value, and humor, are great examples of incentivized personalization tactics to invoke audience reaction.
These advertisements also display a great application of keeping up with modern innovations, such as the Google Assistant advertisement used to introduce AI when it was still relatively new. I also found it noteworthy to point out the advertisement featuring the QR code. This is a great example how, just because an advertisement initially appears successfully (for example yields a high number of website clicks), it does not mean it will accomplish the intended goal (for example generating increases customer purchases).