In 2006, viewers in more than 45 million homes tuned in to the Super Bowl, making it the second-most viewed program in the history of American television. More than 15 percent of these viewers claimed to be watching primarily for the commercials. National Retail Federation, "Fewer Young Adults Watching Super Bowl for Commercials, According to RAMA," news release, January 26, 2006, from http://www.bigresearch.com/news/bignrf012606.htm on April 8, 2006. As for the commercials themselves, they are among the most expensive to produce and air. It was reported that airing a 30-second spot could cost as much as $2.5 million in 2006. Having come to appreciate the appeal of Super Bowl commercials, advertisers are making their Super Bowl offerings available for video streaming online--for watching again, forwarding to friends, adding to personal web pages, and even downloading to video iPods.
In return for their investment, advertisers hope that viewers will remember their commercials and associate them with their brands. Nothing is more distressing than a viewer who says, "That was a very funny ad for light beer, but I couldn't tell you if it was for Miller or Bud." Despite the entertainment value of Super Bowl commercials (including the picking of winners and losers), these ads must still do their work of reinforcing brand loyalty, encouraging selection of their brands over the competition, or, more rarely, introducing new products or services.
The cost of airing commercials has risen from $42,000 during the first year to $2.4 million in 2006. The reach to homes and viewers has steadily increased during this period, making it a highly ranked and prestigious venue for showcasing ads.
A few spots from previous Super Bowls have achieved something of a cult status as best-liked ads. According to a poll conducted by America Online, the three best Super Bowl commercials ever were Coca-Cola's Mean Joe Greene (1980), Apple Computer's 1984 (1984), and Reebok's Terry Tate (2004). Each of these commercials struck responsive chords with audiences by focusing on themes like sports heroes, distrust of corporate giants, and work environments.
Newspapers, magazines, and above all the Internet reviews the ads after they appear on the Super Bowl. This publicity, if it is positive, is of incalculable value to the sponsors, but not all of it is positive. For example, the 2006 post-Super Bowl assessments included the following:
Let's start with the lowest of the low: GoDaddy.com. Talk about a $5 million vanity project (so bad they had to run it twice). This complete mess was what it took Bob Parsons 14 tries with ABC to get through.
-- Barbara Lippert, Adweek
A prehistoric air express delivery--of a stick, via pterodactyl--is stymied by a hungry tyrannosaurus, leading to the first-ever mailroom firing. Adorable and funny. Also, how can you fault a strategy (nobody ever lost his job for choosing FedEx) that's 40 million years old?
-- Bob Garfield, Advertising Age
Ah, now here's a show stopper that should have been our lead-in: Burger King puts on a Busby Berkeley musical number. Singing and dancing "Whopperettes" dress as various burger components (my favorite is the mayonnaise dress, followed by the beef-patty tutu). This was the only ad all night that was outsized and garish enough to be Super Bowl-worthy.
-- Seth Stevenson, Slate
Atmosphere BBDO developed an extension of Pizza Hut's Super Bowl promotion with Jessica Simpson creating a site that allows consumers to literally play with their food. The Pizza Hut Cheesy Bites site allows visitors to remix their own version of the Jessica Simpson Pizza Hut song, "These Bites Are Made for Poppin.'" With 28 musical tracks and 40 sound effects to choose from, people can watch and share their version of the song played along with the television commercial and see Jessica singing along to their creation.
-- AdRants.com
Our favorite of all the Anheuser-Busch work this year is the hysterically funny, "On The Roof," where Bud Light-loving husbands seek refuge. The comic timing is perfect. Ditto the meticulously realized visuals."
-- Lewis Lazare, Chicago Sun-Times
In addition to these professional columnists and commentators, many others offered their opinions of Super Bowl commercials via the Internet. One blogger wrote, "Nicely shot, but what's the point?", incisively cutting through the usual verbiage. Bulletin boards posted rants and raves about the commercials. And more than a few groups specially assembled for the purpose of reviewing Super Bowl commercials were reported on in the press. For example, in Boston members of ad agencies assembled to view the ads together. From their group emerged the not surprising finding that men and women liked different ads more. The women in the group were especially approving of Dove's commercial focusing on women's self-esteem.
Many times when people express opinions about ad preferences, they lack reasons for the preferences. Even when reasons are given, they tend to be more emotional than rational reactions. The Wall Street Journal, in an article quoting viewers' opinions about Super Bowl ads, included the following:
- the ad broke through and was attention-grabbing.
- it was so unpredictable.
- the spot was very moving.
- hilarious, everyone cracked up laughing.
- didn't like it, I was waiting for a spoof.
- tons of impact and very memorable.
- I'm a sucker for monkeys. [spot featuring office run by chimps]
All this hype about Super Bowl commercials brings the phenomenon of the TV commercial to public attention once a year and results in considerable discussion about the aesthetic and business value of this mode of advertising. Unlike the more highbrow domains of culture like literature, art, and even film, the commercial is at home in popular culture. For many, it is unabashed fun and hilarity. Maintaining the suspense about the commercials can be as exciting as the football game itself. The Super Bowl becomes the one moment in American cultural life where advertising is unabashedly welcomed.
Conclusion
Advertising arised in antiquity when the majority of people couldn't read or write. The period of after the World War II was the period of progress of TV advertisement, intense competition in selling and branding.
Advertising has certainly come a long way since the beginning of the century. While the basic principles remain the same, as society becomes more accepting of certain topics, the advertising will continue evolve. For instance, consider in the '50s when it was taboo for pregnancy to be shown on television. "I Love Lucy" broke this wall down, and it is now commonplace. Things that are "politically incorrect" and aren't seen in advertising during one time period become accepted and visible in another.
The answer to our question, whether or not advertising is a direct effect or affect of advertising, is simple. Both are yes. Advertising uses what it sees as popular in its audience at the particular time the campaign is ran, to call attention to the product. What people see in the advertising of a product that they consider popular, creates a new trend in culture. Advertising both directs and reflects popular culture. Thousands of products are advertised daily in many different ways. Oftentimes people will discuss the manner in which the product was advertised as frequently, if not more so than the product itself. What makes any particular advertisement memorable is the "personality" which it is given, and the consumers ability to relate. While some advertising has proven itself to be more effective than others, once again it all serves the same basic purpose-to inform, and persuade. As long as there is a creative motivation to create new products and to allow the familiar ones to continually impact us, advertising will continue to drive and be driven by popular culture.
So you see that the role of advertising in American pop culture is very high: we can see hidden ads in films, on the pictures, even in music. Advertising affects on pop culture: ads can put such market conditions that a new direction in pop culture can appear.
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