Companies Making Debut As Super Bowl Advertisers Often Feel Pressure

A company making its first appearance on a Super Bowl broadcast “is a rite of passage that has built -- or broken -- many a marketer,” according to Bruce Horovitz of USA TODAY. It can be “nerve-racking for first-timers, because there's no larger stage than the Super Bowl, which could have more than 110 million TV viewers, plus a social media audience that will amplify the buzz -- or criticism -- for weeks.” BBDO Creative Chief David Lubars, whose company is creating M&M's Super Bowl spot, said, "There is no middle ground on the Super Bowl. You either kill or get killed." Horovitz notes H&M will be a first-time advertiser this year and will roll out ads for free agent MF David Beckham’s line of body wear. H&M Dir of North American Advertising & Marketing Steven Lubomski said, “We’ve got everything we need to make this ad a success. We’ve got a global sports icon. The biggest stage in the world. And an amazing product” (USA TODAY, 1/18). AD AGE’s Emma Hall wrote H&M is “a surprising player in the Super Bowl ad lineup.” The Swedish company is “well-known for its tie-ups with big fashion names and celebrity style icons.” It has “produced collections with Madonna, Lanvin, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and, most recently, Versace” (ADAGE.com, 1/17).

ANOTHER FIRST-TIMER: Lexus is making its debut as a Super Bowl advertiser this year, and its 30-second spot that is scheduled to air in the first half will feature the '13 GS, which launches in February. A 15-second sneak-peek of the commercial can be seen on Lexus social media channels, including Facebook.com/Lexus and YouTube.com/Lexus. The ads were created by Attik, a Lexus roster agency. Leading up to its Super Bowl commercial, the automaker is embarking on a unique social media activation called TweetDrive Engineered by Lexus (Lexus).