‘A shit load of money and a world famous A-lister rarely makes a good ad’: Creatives on Super Bowl LVII commercials

It’s that time of the year again: Super Bowl LVII is set to hit the Australian screens through Seven’s broadcast today.

Apart from being one of the biggest sporting events in the world, Super Bowl’s wealth of commercial opportunities also makes it a creative’s playground. With the absence of a commercial event on the same scale, Mumbrella even asked some creatives last year whether Chirstmas should be Australia’s Super Bowl moment.

So what do they think of this year’s Big Game ads?

Chief creative officer of Ogilvy ANZ, Toby Talbot, says: “Superbowl isn’t exactly zeitgeisty when everything you see is a rehash of something we last watched ten years ago. The Breaking Bad spot for PopCorners is one of my favourites this year (nice homage to the show, down to the titles) but the last episode was aired on 29th September 2013.

“Likewise, Clueless, which I may have loved but it was so long ago I don’t remember, makes a comeback with Alicia Silverstone and many of the original cast, in the same scenes, wearing the same clothes. With a brand as ambitious as Rakuten, and a stage as big as the Superbowl, I wonder if referencing a movie released in 1995 was the way to go. Perhaps it holds a collective nostalgia in its retro-ness. But I think that’s being a little generous.”

L-R: Toby Talbot and Psembi Kinstan

Executive creative director at DDB Group Melbourne, Psembi Kinstan, adds: “As always, there’s lots of reliance on borrowed interest and celebrity to varying degrees of effectiveness. The direct recreation of some old properties is a little lazy, but no doubt will get people talking even if the brand is mostly forgotten. The teaser for the Squarespace campaign (better than the actual big game ad) on the other hand shows just how charming and engaging a good use of celebrity can be.”

When asked about what’s different in this year’s collection of ads, Talbot says: “I hate musicals. Now the genre seems to have crept into Superbowl (mercifully at least these don’t last as long as the staged variety). From Melissa McCarthy in booking.com to, and it pains me to say it, Old Spice, they are all awful without exception.”

Kinstan noticed the lack of campaigns that “break the format”: “Think Volvo Interception, Tide, Coinbase or even the Reddit big game ads from the last few years,” he says. “The closest I’ve seen yet is the very amusing promotion for Anytime Fitness, but hopefully there’s more to come.”

On lessons that ANZ professionals can learn from the Super Bowl ads, both creatives’ opinions are unanimous. “As always, use your celebrities wisely,” says Kinstan.

Talbot, meanwhile, comments: “Reassurance that a shit load of money and a world-famous A-lister rarely makes a good ad. Because, let’s face it, most creatives will never get to experience either in this part of the world.”

If you missed the campaign roundup (somehow at this point), here are some of this year’s Super Bowl ads:

Alcohol

For the first time in over three decades, ads from brands other than Anheuser-Busch InBev SA will greet the Super Bowl viewers. The brand, which owns Budweiser and Corona among an array of others, gave up its exclusive deal with the prized event last year. This year, other alcohol brands including Bud Light and Heineken are rubbing their hands with glee.

Bud Light (Agency: Anomaly)

Crown Royal whiskey (Agency: Le Pub of Publicis)

Heineken (Agency: Anomaly)

Rémy Martin (Agency: Fred & Farid New York)

Returning brands

It’s not a Super Bowl commercial break without your Pepsi, Doritos and M&M’s (both for the event and perhaps in the audience’s own snack bar). This year saw a similar story.

Doritos (Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners)

M&M’s (Agency: BBDO New York)

Pepsi (Agency: VaynerMedia)

Paramount Plus (Agency: Droga5)

Technology

The tech sector has seen some challenges in the last few months, with prominent job cuts from Google, Meta, Twitter and hiring freeze from many others. However, the industry still managed to dish out some budget for a Super Bowl moment, but don’t expect to see many ads from cryptocurrency companies this year.

Google (Agency: in-house)

Rakuten (Agency: in-house)

Squarespace (Agency: in-house)

Uber (Agency: Special US)

Workday (Agency: Ogilvy)

Travel

One of the traditionally popular categories of brands, travel, did not express much interest in participating this year. Some brands like United Airlines have opted in for a regional buy, however, there’s only one prominent spot in the category so far.

Booking.com (Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo)

Special mentions

Working with Cancer, the cross-industry coalition formed by Publicis Groupe, has bought a regional spot in Super Bowl this year, which urges everyone to play their part in supporting colleagues with cancer.

In addition to the Super Bowl spot, a fully integrated campaign with multimillion dollars in media supported by partners including NBCU, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount, Fox, Roku, Snap, TikTok, YouTube and Meta will also take place.

And, last but not least, a campaign that went viral on TikTok before making into the big screen:

PopCorners (Agency: D3, Frito-Lay’s in-house agency)

Darcy Song

Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.

Linkedin

topics DDB Group MelbourneOgilvy ANZPsembi KinstanSuper BowlSuper Bowl 2023Super Bowl LVIIToby Talbot

Share Tweet Share

Have your say

Login with:

Continue with LinkedIn

or

Comment anonymously

Your comment will be marked as unverified

Name

Comment

Δ