It’s Monday, the day after the Super Bowl and people are talking about the catch, the play call and of course the commercials.
**Squishes up face and says in a teenage girl voice “OMG that puppy was sooo cute”.
We all have our opinions on what spots were the best, or at least the ones that evoked some kind of emotion. I actually liked several until the big brand reveal at the end when you realize there’s no real connection between the message and the product. Then, like it so often does, the magic evaporates and I have no choice but to jam another slice of pizza in my mouth and wait for the game to come back.
It just so happens that in one of those pizza-fueled moments, I realized who really won the Super Bowl. It’s not a company, a brand or a team – digital’s credibility won the Super Bowl. I have no clue why, but somehow a few digital brands felt that spending a cool $4,500,000 on :30 seconds of TV glory was the right move. I disagree, but that’s not my point.
This is the first time I can remember seeing two mobile apps (Clash of Clans and Game of War) and two website creation services (Squarespace and Wix) advertised during any sporting event, let along the Super Bowl. If for whatever reason you were on the fence and needed more convincing that digital is now mainstream, here is your sign. This marks a pretty significant shift in the way we think about digital and traditional advertising. For the last several years it’s been about traditional brands wanting to reach more digital audiences (which is still the case for many). But, it’s pretty rare to see digital-first products trying to reach more traditional audiences via Super Bowl ads.
So, what does this mean? It means that the masses are hungry for good digital products and services. It’s no coincidence that these bands are becoming household names. They’re no longer the little guys who lurk in the shadows and and try to hijack the Super Bowl with a hashtag. Commercials reflect the times we live in and those times have changed. So, let's learn from the shift and stop segregating digital and traditional thinking. Let’s not assume that a digital client won’t want a big TV spot or that a traditional client won’t want a digital only execution. Let’s focus on what we know: people want things that entertain them, things that never leave their side and things that make their lives easier. The writing is on the wall. Why not give them what they want?
I know, this is scary stuff. The simple division between digital and traditional is further eroding. But, that’s a good thing. That means more creativity, more opportunity and less rules. Yes. Cheers to less rules.
- R
Here are the digital product spots I referenced: