Big Game SMunday
I’m not gonna wax on about the conventions of Big Game advertising which we’ve all already heard—dogs, buttons, babes, horses or the like. It would be cliché to talk about what works and makes a spot a hit in that time slot. Also, I’ll try and not be bleak or negative or jaded.
Ever since Deutsch premiered the 60 of the Darth Vader VW spot in advance of the Big Game, the event and spectacle of that massive ad day has changed. What was at that time a brilliant way to bolster a shorter version on air created the YouTube trend of launching the ads weeks before their actual “premier.” Frankly I think there’s eventually going to be a backlash to that strategy. As a result there aren’t any surprises. The size of spots aired on that day has diminished as a result, moving the experience from a roomful of people and a large screen to the much smaller space of our computers and phones. The luster of a surprise spot hitting you when you’re 14 Bud Lights into the 3rd quarter is gone. So also has the buzz leading up to the actual Big Game diminished.
All that said, the pinnacle of advertising, the Big Game spot, is still the lust of all craftspeople in the business of spotmaking. Actually booking a job on one of those commercials still hasn’t lost any weight.
In the process of editing a spot for the Big Game this year I gazed back on all the spots I’ve worked on or watched people work on for that main event. I was trying to gauge the trends of what worked during a certain time and what didn’t work. It’s amazing to see just how much our tastes and appetites have changed over time. The things that made us laugh in 2003 would not have the same effect today. The things that made us laugh or cry at any given time have always been dictated by the climate of the time, and regardless, it’s always in the spirit of an advertiser trying to gain the favor of the viewers. This collective conscious and taste of the time during that big day is advertising’s creative surf, so to speak. And there’s no bolder, big-wave than getting a client to spend $8 million on a spot for that day. Whatever it is that you do for a living, when you’re working on a spot that massive it’s an incredible rush. You truly are in the arena. Hopefully that shine never wears off.
In all my years of doing it, what I now relish in spite of the early releases and diminished surprises, is seeing what brave new talent peeks in the ether each year, only to return for years to come creating a legacy of definitive execution. To make a spot that cuts through certainly takes a great concept and great creatives, but behind every breakthrough spot are battles waged for passion for the work—when advertising goes beyond commerce and becomes entertainment for the sake of entertainment above brand. I know those battles and it’s at the heart of what I love about what we do. In my opinion there’s no reason to make a spot for the big game unless you’re aiming for the Top 5. Visibility and recall is everything. If you book 60 seconds worth of that time simply to tell everyone about your great prices or demo your shiny new object, you better make it fun, crafted and memorable. Anything else is a complete waste of money, reputation and the viewers’ time.
That Sunday is the one day a year when America actually universally loves advertising. Every so often ad legends are made that day and careers change overnight, literally. Everyone wants to be a part of the memorable 60 that changes everything, and few ever reach that height. It’s better than any award—it’s a chance for longevity in a business of fleeting appetites.
A good crop of Big Game advertising is the litmus test for a strong economy and a golden age of creativity, not to mention a robust and renewed love for the NFL. Advertising is at the core of what drives this country, set firmly in the heart of capitalism, and there’s no country better at that than America. And football is the heart of the American spirit. The day of the Big Game wouldn’t be as large without massive ads.
I have only two wishes for next year’s Big Game: 1) that the NFL allows the entire world to finally start calling it the Super Bowl in every context. They may own it but frankly we own them and no one makes us call Christmas “that special day”; and 2) that the US government finally embraces the concept of SMunday and declares the Monday after the frickin’ Super Bowl a national holiday. It will be good for America, good for football and good for the economy, not to mention public morale. Hell, it will be good for all of us—everybody wins...especially advertising because we’ll be the ones to start that movement—more products to sell surrounding the Big Game, know what I mean?
