Anheuser-Busch has "tacked on another 30 seconds" to its Super Bowl XLVIII media buy, giving the brewer a total of four minutes of ad time, according to Matthew Hibbard of the ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The extra time "will be added to Budweiser’s 'Hero’s Welcome' ad, bringing the total length of that ad to 60 seconds" (
BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/28). In St. Louis, Lisa Brown noted in a teaser released yesterday, the "Hero's Welcome" spot "chronicles a soldier's homecoming." A-B said that the ad is part of a year-long social media effort "to encourage consumers to honor the U.S. military by using the hashtag #salute on social media" (
STLTODAY.com, 1/28). Meanwhile, NBC’s “Today” this morning had an exclusive look at Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” ad, and NBC’s Joe Fryer said the spot is a “sequel” to the brand’s ad from last year that featured the connection between a rancher and his Clydesdale that topped the USA Today Ad Meter. After the ad was shown, “Today” co-host Carson Daly said, “I want a beer so bad right now. I’m so thirsty. … Budweiser, you’re amazing.” Co-host Savannah Guthrie added, “Horse, puppies, you had us at hello” (
“Today,” NBC, 1/29).
CHEERIO, MATE! In N.Y., Stuart Elliott reported General Mills' Cheerios brand, which in May introduced a commercial "featuring an interracial family that unexpectedly generated an outpouring of vituperative online remarks," has now "decided to bring out a sequel during this Sunday’s championship game." The sequel "features the same cast members portraying the same contemporary family as in the original: black father, white mother and biracial daughter." The plot "will be centered on the father’s disclosure to his daughter that she is soon to have a brother, and on her humorous reaction." Cheerios VP/Marketing Camille Gibson said that there were "several potential commercials that executives considered for the Super Bowl." She added the ad featuring the interracial family "ended up being the spot sparking the most" interest (N.Y. TIMES, 1/29).
CHEVY ALL SET: In Detroit, Bomey & Snavely report Chevrolet's first of two Super Bowl ads "promotes the heavy-duty version of the recently redesigned Chevrolet Silverado pickup." The Silverado ad, which was released online yesterday, shows a "stud bull finding romance to the tune of Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing.'" Chevy "plans to market the ad aggressively online in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, including a home page takeover" tomorrow on YouTube. GM "declined to provide details about the second ad, though both will air on Fox during the first quarter" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/29). AD AGE's Michael McCarthy reports the 60-second ad via Leo Burnett, Detroit, is titled "Romance" and "starts off with the familiar 'A man and his truck' refrain." However, the ad midway through will "pull a switcheroo" on viewers. The ad is "Budweiser-ish in its use of animals and humor." Chevy Global CMO Tim Mahoney believes the ad will "surprise viewers looking for a good laugh" (ADAGE.com, 1/29). Also in Detroit, Melissa Burden reports Chevy will air "two ads in the post game and award the Most Valuable Player a new Silverado High Country truck" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/29).
TOYOTA TINKERS: In Newark, Stacy Jones notes Toyota "has decided to draft off the buzz generated by a 'Muppets Most Wanted' trailer scheduled to air during the Super Bowl by casting the whole gang in its 60-second spot starring Terry Crews." The trailer "spoofs a horror movie," with a second teaser leaving audiences "to wonder how Crews goes from being stunned to have stumbled upon the Muppets to turning his button-up shirt into a makeshift cape, wearing his tie as a headband and using his percolating pecs to lead a parade of singing Muppets and dancing Vegas showgirls" (
Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/29). Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Chris Woodyard notes nine car companies are "splurging on more than a third of the game's ad time after the coin toss -- marking a third year in which the automakers commanded the largest ad presence." Car companies "are going all out to leverage even bigger results with social media." The goal "isn't just to sell a car, but to create a stir." For some automakers, a "successful ad means a YouTube 'moment' that goes viral," and for others, the game ad "is a chance to open a dialogue" (
USA TODAY, 1/29).
TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT: GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving this morning said one of the company’s two Super Bowl ads will show a woman quitting her job. Irving said, “Her boss has no clue that this is happening.” He added of finding someone to participate in the ad, “We just kind of went through our customer profiles to find folks we thought were about ready to take that step” (
“GMA,” ABC, 1/29). Irving yesterday said the size of the audience for the Super Bowl is "so darn big that there's really no better opportunity, certainly in the United States, where you can get a message in front of an audience that's captive." He noted having a presence in the Super Bowl "does a good job for us." Irving: "We track our metrics very, very carefully and, frankly, it continues to pay off. ... We do have a lot of measurement and metrics that we use to determine whether we're successful or not. It's not a direct ad, where we expect sales to go up the next day. We expect this to have a great brand reflection and we know throughout the year, that folks refer to the Super Bowl as the thing that made them aware that GoDaddy was there for them to get a domain name" (
"Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 1/28).
SQUARE PEG, ROUND HOLE? Squarespace Founder & CEO Anthony Casalena, whose company is running an ad during the Super Bowl for the first time, said the "point of the ad is to draw a distinction between two worlds." Casalena: "One is a kind of cluttered world on the web, which is full of mortgage offers and discounts and memes. And (the other is) this sort of clean world, this refined world, which is where Squarespace operates and we help our customers operate in that second world." He added, "We just wanted to deliver that message in the quickest way possible." He noted the cost of the 30-second spot is a "risk for us, but we've had a history of increasing ad budgets over time," and while $4M "looks like a big number, it's not without context in our budget" ("Fast Money Halftime Report," CNBC, 1/28).
