Super Bowl. Is this the new place for supercharged passion, purpose and profit?

This year’s Super Bowl has been as supercharged as ever. 

Over 327 million Americans and 102 million globally tuned into this year's Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20,  J Lo and Shakira delivered the half time entertainment and the world’s largest brands invested $AU648m (circa $US435M) on their in-game advertising to connect with us. 

The place to be seen. 

Mega-platforms like sporting events (and royal weddings :) provide an increasingly important platform to connect with mass audiences. This year 40% of Super Bowl advertisers chose to buy advertising spots that were 60 seconds or longer – maximising the opportunity to entertain their customers and create a lasting impression.

Interestingly, this year some of the content stood out for very different reasons, with some brands choosing to move away from the traditional comedic entertainment of years gone by.

Loretta Love 

Inspired by a true story of an employee, Google built an emotional connection by introducing us to an elderly man asking his Google Assistant to store memories of his wife, Loretta, who recently passed away. The ad has since amassed a further 15+ million views on YouTube.

A sign of gratitude to man’s best friend. 

David MacNeil (CEO of a car accessory manufacturer) was devastated when his golden retriever was diagnosed with cancer and given a 1% chance of survival. Fortunately, a team at Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine saved his life.

As a thank you, MacNeil bought a $6 million 30 second Super Bowl ad to raise awareness for the veterinary school which saved his pet’s life. 

Is there space in space for women?

Olay focused on encouraging women to play a bigger role in tech; donating $1 USD for every tweet with the hashtag ‘MakeSpaceForWomen’ to the not-for-profit organisation Girls Who Code. Whilst the commercial had an element of humour, it also sent a clear message that there is more than enough space for women in the professional world.

The Super Bowl. A superpower in itself. 

Whilst we may not understand the rules or what a touch down equates to, we can’t help but be in awe of the impact this mega-event has on Americans and its ripple effect internationally from the hype, wealth and conversations generated. 

Perhaps what is most fascinating are the motivators and approaches adopted by brands to engage with such an unprecedentedly large audience, one which costs up to $200,000 USD per second to communicate.

Written by the communication strategy team at Emmet Consulting & Marketing. Emmetconsulting.com