By Sabri Suby, founder, King Kong
With more than 100 million viewers tuning in, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest televised events in the world. That kind of audience doesn’t come cheap. This year, brands shelled out a staggering $8 million for a mere 30 seconds of airtime.
But shelling out the big bucks isn’t enough on its own. The goal is to be the ad that everyone talks about afterwards. So, which of this year’s crop of ads is destined for post-game talkability superstardom?
I’ve handpicked three of my top contenders.
Mountain Dew
This ad was pure chaos, and is my number one favourite. The first 10 seconds were admittedly a bit weak, but after that, it was an absolute sensory overload. Bright visuals, absurd moments, and Kiss from a Rose by Seal blasting in the background. It’s a song everyone recognises, and even if they don’t, the sheer madness of the ad made people stop and ask: what is happening?
Another clever move is that they used the ad to introduce a new flavour. This is likely the first big marketing push for it, meaning they can track sales spikes after the ad airs.
This ad is loud, unpredictable, and meme-worthy. That’s why it’s my number one.
Uber Eats
Coming in second is Uber Eats’ advert featuring Matthew McConaughey. This one ticked all the right boxes. First, it had an incredible hook: “From the very beginning, football has been a conspiracy to make us hungry.”
Three seconds in, and we’re already deep into a bizarre theory. That’s the kind of thing that keeps people watching. Whether or not you wanted to watch the advert, you were already wondering what he was on about. They opened a curiosity loop, making us need to see how it played out.
On top of that, the ad cleverly tied into the Super Bowl itself. This is what’s called an identity trigger. If you’re watching football and an advert comes on specifically referencing football, you’re naturally going to pay attention.
The ad eventually broke the fourth wall, showing McConaughey in a therapy session where he realised, of course, that the conspiracy theory wasn’t actually true. But by that point, the advert had done its job. It hooked you, entertained you, and subtly placed Uber Eats in your head without aggressively pushing an offer.
Stella Artoise
This ad took celebrity endorsements to the next level. Super Bowl ads always have famous faces, but this one went all in. David Beckham? Check. A big, ridiculous story? Check.
This ad was a masterclass in storytelling, with David Beckham meeting his long lost brother, called Dave Beckham (and played by Matt Damon), for a barbeque and a bottle of Stella. The ad opens with Beckham’s parents saying: “You have a twin brother we never told you about.”
Boom. You’re hooked. It’s not selling anything yet. It’s just telling a story, and stories are powerful because people need to know how they end.
By the 14-second mark, the audience was fully engaged. We were all waiting to see who the twin brother was. Then came the big reveal of Dave Beckham. The banter about his level of fame (comparing him to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) kept the humour light and engaging, and never pushed the product down your throats.
Meanwhile, Stella was still able to sneak in just enough branding to stay memorable.
So I’ve given you my ranking, but what do the stats say?
A simple way to track the winner is through online engagement. At the time of writing, Stella is the clear winner with 1.36m views and climbing. Mountain Dew’s Kiss From A Lime has around half a million views, while Uber Eats was trailing behind with 230k.
But while YouTube views give us some induction of virality, the real test is yet to come. Because at the end of the day, the only metric that truly matters is ROI. And that means shifting a whole lot of soft drinks, beer, and takeaways.
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Top image: Sabri Suby