CD That's Me

Thirty seconds can be very expensive.

It’s recorded than more than one third of the US Population tuned in last night to watch Super Bowl 50, cheer on their teams and watch the Halftime Show.

And to watch all the ads.

Major corporations and brands spent millions of dollars for a thirty second spot to promote their goods.

This year they paid Dr. Corporate America upwards of five million dollars to be in the game. This is the most expensive it has ever been. Our ad makers had already taken over the internet with their latest and greatest. The Heinz Hot Dog Stampede commercial went viral over a week ago, Drake’s Hotline Bling is a hit again and just about everyone was humming the Nationwide Insurance ditty whether they were a fan of Peyton or not.

And then last night it kicked off with Ron Howard and the star-studded lineup to start the broadcast. There were some funny spots, but make no mistake, this year’s top ads were just as about who was starring in them as what they were selling.

Advertisers and event producers share similar skills. We capitalize on the fact that large events and star power generate awareness and encourage action. We create and promote them to build anticipation and to punctuate the goals of our carefully planned creative strategies and PR programs. And fortunately when they are done well, they can be very entertaining and very persuasive.

I was sad that I wasn’t screaming for the Pats last night. It was a great season, but just didn’t end the way we all hoped. I was more saddened by the fact that our three time MVP was booed while Ray Lewis was applauded. Come on guys this was really bad form. Haters gonna hate. It changes absolutely nothing.

I knew I wouldn’t really be paying that much attention to the actual game, so I thought it would be fun to engage in a little sport of my own – – introducing “If We Had an Extra Five Million.” Loud shout out to my husband and our friends Patti and Steve for their assist and extra points.

We rated the commercials on the following:

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  Knowing the audience

  
  


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  Involving the audience (emotionally, call to action, etc.)

  
  


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  Current event relevancy

  
  


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  Overall fun factor

  
  


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  Best celebrity endorsement

  
  


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  Best use of $5M

  
  

Congrats to the Denver Broncos, all the MVPs and to the agencies behind last night’s ads. We now know that Super Bowl fans seem to make a lot of babies every year and that Mountain Dew needs a new ad agency. #whatwasthat

We actually struggled last night as most of the ads failed to impress or meet more than one of our criteria. So we decided on a tie between many because we were just too tired to go into overtime. Our congrats go out to Budweiser as Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen really know how to throw a political party and invited Helen Mirren to make sure you didnt drive home drunk from it; to the candy companies for using tried and true sex appeal and rock and roll to make you want to consume sugar again (William DeFoe was classic); to Jeep for both its 75 anniversary ad and using an up and comer Morgan Dorr to write, sing and star in one of their spots (great song Morgan!); to T-Mobile for being the best spin doctors, to Hyundai for their first date and to Kia for the Walken Closet.

The ads were winners, losers and gave us something to talk about even after the closing ceremony. Sort of like your favorite home team.

Speaking of which. . . although the Patriots were not on the field, if I had an extra $5M, I would bet on them.