Lexus, Mercedes, Kia Among Auto Winners In Super Bowl; Chevy Pregame Ad Praised
Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Kia "came out on top" among auto brands that advertised in the Super Bowl, according to David Undercoffler of the L.A. TIMES. Lexus "had a particularly good day" with a spot for its RC 350 that was "good enough to give the car a 1,820% increase in searches" on Kelley Blue Book's site, marking the "biggest boost of any model on the site." Lexus searches on car site Edmunds.com also "went up 37% during the Super Bowl" (LATIMES.com, 2/2). USA TODAY's Chris Woodyard cites data from Edmunds as showing that the "biggest gain in interest went to Mercedes-Benz, with its AMG GT supercar; followed by BMW, with its i3 city electric car" (USA TODAY, 2/3). The GLOBE & MAIL's Susan Krashinsky wrote Dodge's spot utilizing the elderly "was a refreshing approach to people who are all too regularly mocked, or ignored altogether." The Boomer generation's "mass spending power has long been a strong influence on advertising trends" (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/3). Meanwhile, in Michigan, David Muller noted GMC "did not air any commercials during the game, but had a major presence" in the Phoenix area, sponsoring the NFL Experience Zone at the Phoenix Convention Center (MLIVE.com, 2/2).
COLORADO AVALANCHE: VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted Chevy's pregame fake blackout ad for its '15 Colorado truck "shows what can happen when a commercial delivers a message that is tied in almost directly to the content that attracted an audience in the first place and to the behavior they are in the midst of at the moment the ad is seen." In the "eyebrow-raising" ad, Chevy "stirred up a lot of nervous energy by making it seem as if the feed of the game had been disrupted by some sort of technological mishap." Chevy VP/U.S. Marketing Paul Edwards: "The beauty of the pre-game event is that everyone is leaning in waiting for the game to start. That was one of the most perfect moments we could have chosen.” Steinberg noted Chevy’s ad was "so tied into the kickoff moment that Edwards said he worried in the moments before it aired when he noticed the ad used footage of a stadium with a closed roof." Data from Edmunds shows that viewers following the spot "started to visit Web pages associated with the Colorado." Edmunds said that four different ads for the Colorado during NBC’s pregame "helped boost site traffic to Colorado pages by 25% ... and a whopping 1104% during the first quarter of the game." The original idea for the blackout spot came from ad agency Commonwealth, Detroit. Edwards noted that Commonwealth "had to hash it out with NBC" to "put the idea into action" (VARIETY.com, 2/2).
MOVING VIOLATION: BLOOMBERG NEWS' Gerry Smith writes one "clear miss was Nissan’s second-quarter ad, titled 'With Dad,' which featured a race car driver who is often away from his young son." The spot "provoked many tweets from viewers who said it made them feel guilty, particularly as they watched the championship game without their kids" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/3).
