“Super Bowl Commentary 2015” Ads Analysis: A Multicultural Perspective – Multicultural Marketing News – February 2015

If you’re looking for proof that marketers are embracing the total market approach to advertising, Super Bowl XLIX is chock full of examples. Some of the most memorable ads this year, including spots from Toyota, Nationwide, and Dove, exemplify the shift away from culturally targeted ads in favor of a total market strategy that focuses on the shared cultural values of all Americans. In 2012 Ad Age forecasted that the total market strategy would outstrip culturally specific advertising, and predicted that the trend would be accompanied by “growing pains” within the industry. After seeing elegant examples of the total market strategy on Sunday, it may be safe to assume that this new strategy has come of age. In Dove’s Men + Care ad, we saw men of many different races interacting with their children, fulfilling the same needs in their children’s lives, and highlighting how the experience of fatherhood crosses cultural lines. During Toyota’s Camry ad, viewers got a glimpse into the life of Paralympic athlete Amy Purdy. As she struggles to complete her routine, we hear the motivating voice of Muhammad Ali. This ad speaks to the trials that athletes of all races face, and like the Dove ad, draws from a universal emotion that transcends cultural divisions. Multicultural advertising is not only beneficial for fostering a more inclusive American culture, but from an advertising standpoint it just makes sense. Each year the diversity of Super Bowl viewers increases. And marketers will tell you that when it comes to Super Bowl ads, the big winners are the ones that go viral on social media after the big game is over. With current research suggesting that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than their white counterparts to frequent social media sites, advertisers have more reasons than ever to embrace a total market approach.In short, the total market approach is more efficient, more effective and more inclusive of all Americans. The trend of pinpointing advertising messages to certain groups seems to be fading away and taking its place is the portrayal of an over-arching American experience that everyone can identify with, regardless of which football team they rooted for. By Adriana Hemans, Marketing Coordinator SoapBoxSample, ahemans@soapboxsample.com, (818) 756-7429.

Super Bowl commercials are created to evoke emotion. No matter what that emotion is, these ads intend to leave you with that feeling long after the game is over. This year, I noticed less laughter and more introspection. More ads were aired that were meant to tug at your heartstrings, rather than make you laugh out loud. One important theme I saw this year weaving through many of the ads was that of overcoming adversity or a handicap. These were the ads that inspire us, while perhaps even making us cry a bit. To that end, the most important ad of the evening in my opinion was not created to sell anything or boost a particular brand. The NFL’s domestic violence ad was powerful. In a year when the NFL was vilified and as a supremely powerful organization made many mistakes, this was a step in the right direction. The ad itself was intense in the emotion it evoked. Showing how savvy one who is going through abuse must be, and also showing how the kindness of strangers can be invaluable in this situation was indeed emotional. The NFL has a lot of work yet to do, but this was a step in the right direction. By Karen Sinisi, Director of Sales, Ethnic Technologies, 

karens@ethnictechnologies.com,  866-333-8324, ext. 117.

Super Bowl Advertising 2015 What’s New?

“Around the Block Again”

The Internet age of instant gratification leaves little to be revealed once the biggest game of the year finally kicks off. Many brands “leak” their spots in the week leading up in order to engage conversation and promote favorability in the same way movie houses release Academy Award-eligible films around Oscar season. But this year’s batch of ads not only featured “leaked” spots, but a lot of commercials that have been around for a while, particularly in the automotive industry.  Dodge’s spot celebrating its 100-year history with advice from 100+ year-old sages is a great spot. But we saw it as early as last April, and celebrating a century (from 1914-2014)…in 2015 felt a little stale. Same with the Fiat “Viagra” spot. That spot’s big payoff is the ending. I went soft the minute I saw it and thought, “Again Sergio?!” We get it. It’s clever, but it was cleverer last year.  And car brands that could have taken advantage of this, gave us the same luxury blue-tint jargon-filled forgettable spot (Lexus NX). We can file this under ‘Seen It’ as well. The same can be said for the commercials with an obvious nod to multicultural audiences, such as the Microsoft spot, “Estelle’s Brilliant Bus” or the snippet of spoken Spanish in McDonald’s Pay it With Lovin’ campaign. It all felt vaguely familiar and well, middling. Super Bowl ads should take a hint from what makes football so enjoyable: Surprise and unpredictability.  Give us something to look forward to. That’s what makes SB spots great. By Daniel Gonzalez, Creative Brand Partner, Prime Access daniel.gonzalez@prime-access.com, 212-868-6800.

Tying in to the “immigrant angle” of Super Bowl XLIX is the Croatian National Tourist Office which jumped to promote the “first matchup of Croatian head coaches” when they learned  that both Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots, and Pete Carroll, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, are of Croatian descent. “The Battle of the Croatian Coaches” it is being called and Belichick said in a press conference “…looks like we’ll have a Croatian champion one way or the other.” The Croatian National Tourist Office is offeringthe winning coach a “trip back home”: an all-expense paid trip throughout Croatia in 2015.  “As this will be the first Super Bowl match between two coaches of Croatian ancestry, the winning coach will get the chance to explore the land of his ancestors.” Tweets and hashtags include @Croatia_hr and  #BattleforCroatia. Other famous Croatian Americans include John Malkovich, actor, Judah Friedlander, actor and comedian and Franjo Vlasic, founder and namesake of Vlasic Pickles. By Lisa Skriloff, President, Multicultural Marketing Resources Inc., Lisa@multicultural.com, 212-242-3351.