Not all brands belong in the Super Bowl

It’s like the crescendo that didn’t happen. You’re watching the Super Bowl and a commercial break begins. An inspiring and audacious 60-second car commercial is followed by an instant classic 30-second beer commercial that’s followed by something that can only be described as a 30-second dud. No one knows the advertiser and no one remembers the advertiser. The commercial just sucked the air out of the room.

It’s a head scratcher

Year after year, you can count on at least one Super Bowl commercial that’s anything but super. A company decides to raid the party and try to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, those who recall their name the morning after, wish they didn’t.

Some brands are ill-suited for the big stage.

It’s not their time. It’s not their audience. Their product or service is too niche, too specialized and not appropriate for the Super Bowl.

It’s an ego trip

Advertising during the Super Bowl should be part of a vision and clear-cut strategy. Newcomers to the Super Bowl stage need to check their ego at the door and make certain they are paying to promote their brand on one of professional sport’s biggest platforms because it is without question the next logical step for the business. The rationale must be bullet proof and the ROI significant.

It’s a blockbuster

If a company does buy into the Super Bowl extravaganza, they must do so in a big way. The advertisement, while staying true to the brand personality, value proposition and key messages, has to make a bold statement. That doesn’t mean it needs to be a multi-million dollar production. The commercial must possess a uniqueness, a brilliance, a clarity of message and a beauty that sears it into the viewer’s brain.

If the advertisement doesn’t motivate the masses to instantly light up Twitter with gushing comments; if it isn’t getting rave reviews around the water cooler at the office the next day; if ad critics aren’t writing accolades about it in blogs and Super Bowl commercial rollups, then it most likely failed.

Chrysler delivered a blockbuster in 2011. The company showed everyone that a commercial with a vision and a powerful message can inspire not only customers, but employees, dealers, suppliers, an entire city and even a nation.

Now that’s a crescendo.

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