PR Tactics From Super Bowl Ads
February 7, 2020
Ah, the Super Bowl. Many people will cheerily claim, “I only watch it for the commercials.” For any brand that has a few million bucks to spare and wants 100 million captive eyeballs, the Super Bowl is a no brainer. However, despite the large audience, the increasing price tag of an ad buy means brands are also looking for ways to make sure their 30-second spot hits the mark.
These brands maximized their ad spend’s reach and cut through the noise by using a few public relations tactics to generate some quality chatter (and earned media).
Bud Light
How do brands keep the buzz from their $5.6 million commercial going?
Bud Light started early, announcing their celeb partnership months before the big day. In August 2019, rapper Post Malone announced his collaboration with the beer company beginning with a custom Bud Light can. The can features Malone’s face alongside illustrations of medieval dragons, barbed wire, and swords. The brand amped up their social media, adding a hashtag and asking consumers to vote on one of two commercial options: #PostyStore vs. #PostyBar. In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, fans could head to Bud Light’s social channels to share their input and help pick which one aired.
Bud Light capitalized on their spot, before and after the game, by getting the commercial off the TV and into your newsfeed. Watch the winning ad here.
Doritos
What happens when your target market is…kind of everyone? Well, you pick something popular with everyone and try to work in as many demographics as possible (while still making sense).
The song “Old Town Road” by Grammy-winning rapper Lil Nas X was a 2019 summer hit. It had a record-breaking 19-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Of course, a brand was bound to take that success and keep it running. In its Super Bowl ad, Doritos sets up a gun-free showdown pitting the young rapper against old-school western star Sam Elliott. Old versus new and something recognizable for nearly every age demographic — Doritos used pop-culture nostalgia to double their targeted audience. Watch the ad here.
Jeep
The story of how Jeep’s Super Bowl commercial came to be is, in itself, interesting. However, it started with one of the most classic PR strategies: holidays. Holidays are a favorite way to add relevance to a story. This year’s Super Bowl just happened to fall on Groundhog’s Day, for the second time in 54 years. With this holiday in mind, the idea snowballed into an ad featuring Bill Murray (in his only commercial, ever), reprising his role as Phil Connors. All in all, what started with a simple holiday match up culminated into one of the most popular Super Bowl 2020 ad spots. Watch the ad here.
Public Relations is an ever-growing, comprehensive, 360-degree plan. A PR campaign is not a one-shot opportunity, but instead, a multitude of opportunities rolled into one. After all, a perfect PR strategy will make sure people continue to think about your company and its products long after the final quarter.
Kayla Bortak
Senior Account Manager
PR Tactics From Super Bowl Ads
February 7, 2020
Ah, the Super Bowl. Many people will cheerily claim, “I only watch it for the commercials.” For any brand that has a few million bucks to spare and wants 100 million captive eyeballs, the Super Bowl is a no brainer. However, despite the large audience, the increasing price tag of an ad buy means brands are also looking for ways to make sure their 30-second spot hits the mark.
These brands maximized their ad spend’s reach and cut through the noise by using a few public relations tactics to generate some quality chatter (and earned media).
Bud Light
How do brands keep the buzz from their $5.6 million commercial going?
Bud Light started early, announcing their celeb partnership months before the big day. In August 2019, rapper Post Malone announced his collaboration with the beer company beginning with a custom Bud Light can. The can features Malone’s face alongside illustrations of medieval dragons, barbed wire, and swords. The brand amped up their social media, adding a hashtag and asking consumers to vote on one of two commercial options: #PostyStore vs. #PostyBar. In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, fans could head to Bud Light’s social channels to share their input and help pick which one aired.
Bud Light capitalized on their spot, before and after the game, by getting the commercial off the TV and into your newsfeed. Watch the winning ad here.
Doritos
What happens when your target market is…kind of everyone? Well, you pick something popular with everyone and try to work in as many demographics as possible (while still making sense).
The song “Old Town Road” by Grammy-winning rapper Lil Nas X was a 2019 summer hit. It had a record-breaking 19-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Of course, a brand was bound to take that success and keep it running. In its Super Bowl ad, Doritos sets up a gun-free showdown pitting the young rapper against old-school western star Sam Elliott. Old versus new and something recognizable for nearly every age demographic — Doritos used pop-culture nostalgia to double their targeted audience. Watch the ad here.
Jeep
The story of how Jeep’s Super Bowl commercial came to be is, in itself, interesting. However, it started with one of the most classic PR strategies: holidays. Holidays are a favorite way to add relevance to a story. This year’s Super Bowl just happened to fall on Groundhog’s Day, for the second time in 54 years. With this holiday in mind, the idea snowballed into an ad featuring Bill Murray (in his only commercial, ever), reprising his role as Phil Connors. All in all, what started with a simple holiday match up culminated into one of the most popular Super Bowl 2020 ad spots. Watch the ad here.
Public Relations is an ever-growing, comprehensive, 360-degree plan. A PR campaign is not a one-shot opportunity, but instead, a multitude of opportunities rolled into one. After all, a perfect PR strategy will make sure people continue to think about your company and its products long after the final quarter.
