Super Bowl: Do the ads work?
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — More than 140 million people are expected to tune in to Super Bowl LVIII this Sunday but the reasons why may depend on who you ask.
Most people probably want to watch the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, some may want to watch Usher perform at the halftime show and others are there strictly for the commercials.
Companies shell out millions of dollars every year during the Super Bowl in hopes of generating as much revenue or engagement as possible. But how successful are they? Does spending that much money actually work?
“Is that a good buy? Yes, it works,” said Robert Kolt, a professor of practice emeritus in Michigan State University’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations.
Kolt called the Super Bowl “Oscar night” for advertisers due to the importance and spectacle of the night. Companies of all sorts are vying for air time during one of the biggest television events of the year.
There will be an estimated 55 commercials played during the big game, and with each 30-second ad costing companies $7 million during this year’s game, it’s going to be important for each ad to stand out. And that’s the key to making it successful, according to Kolt, even if the ad doesn’t doesn’t generate that money back overnight.
“You don’t run away from the TV to go buy a Bud Light, but you might the next time you’re at the store if you liked the ad and remember it,” he said. “So, the advertising really creates a brand that should last well after the game.”
Kolt and the advertising faculty at MSU have rated each ad during the Super Bowl for the past 27 years. He knows what makes an ad memorable and why companies are so eager to drop millions of dollars to spend 30 seconds on our TV screens.
“The advertising faculty at MSU looks at is … creativity, placement. Is the production value high? Is the brand strategy strong? Are they more emotive or emotional than cognitive, which is just informational? In a way, a great ad has to be both,” he said.
And it’s not just the content that makes a commercial during the big game worth the price. It’s also about when the ad is played during the game. Kolt said typically the earlier the better, but there are advantages to having a later commercial as well.
“I will tell you, the best ads in the Super Bowl are usually in the first quarter. So if you tune in early, the advertisers want to get them in before people get distracted by a bad game and tune out,” he said. “But if you are in the Super Bowl and you get to that final two-minute warning and you’ve got a great game and you’re in that final break, oh my gosh it’s like winning the lottery jackpot.”
But are all commercials treated equally? Do all ads generate the same buzz? According to Kolt, there is one group he guarantees will not meet the moment.
“The worst ads of the year in the Super Bowl will be the movie trailers. I guarantee it, it happens every year,” he said. “They don’t get how to get the big picture sound effects and explosions into the small world of TV. That’s my prediction.”
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