Super Bowl Advertising 2024 Wrap-Up

Weird, whacky and only one or two wonderful

It was the night of nights for campaigns, and apparently, a football match was on, too.

As a career campaign strategist, each year, I eagerly anticipate the Super Bowl ad breaks and the groundbreaking work that is born from the most expensive advertising in the world.

In recent years, though, as many commentators before me have mentioned, the work has become little more than flashy, splashy and full of cashy. 

This year did not buck the (downward) trend.

A few good ones

'A mountain of entertainment,' Paramount +

Stars from Paramount+ franchises are stuck down a mountain. Patrick Stewart has a suggestion, emboldened by an appearance of Creed playing Higher. It's funny and entertaining, and most importantly, there's a good reason those celebrities are in the frame; you can watch them all with a Paramount + subscription. This was a low bar that many other star-studded commercials failed to meet.

Cetaphil taps the Taylor Swift effect with #GameTimeGlow

Taylor Swift has brought a whole new audience to the NFL. The NFL's surge in female viewership cuts across different age demographics; among teenage girls, NFL viewership has increased by 53 per cent. Among the 18–24 age demographic, there has been an increase of 24 per cent. A whopping 39 million viewers watched this year's game.

Cetaphil's commercial features a real-life father and daughter bonding during the game. Unfortunately, the skincare brand Cetaphil was not the hero of this story; the link was tenuous at best. Clearly, the goal here was hearts over minds.

Note: It appears that Cetaphil stole the idea from a TikTok creator but has since given in to public pressure to acknowledge the original creator.

'In e.l.f we Trust', e.l.f cosmetics

The Judge Judy x Suits collaboration is exactly the kind of fun we need during a major sporting event. E.l.f. has a fresh marketing approach, and I'm here for it. This is one of the only commercials that made me want to buy the product after seeing the spot, which, friends, is the whole point. 

'Perfect 10' by KIA

Grab your tissues for this one. Compelling storytelling by the automotive company that weaves unique features of their electric vehicle into the story. This type of ad was quite prevalent during and after the pandemic, and I can't help but feel it's been done before.

Almost a 10 out of 10.

CeraVe with Michael Cera

It's all in the name. It was so cringe, but I couldn't look away. The name play is nothing groundbreaking, but the end message made this commercial a touchdown; 'Made by dermatologists, not Michael Cera.'

‘Talkin Like Walken’, BMW

Christopher Walken is dealing with the fact that everyone thinks they can do a Christopher Walken impersonation. It tickled me, and the 5 series electric BMW played a starring role. Again, it was a low bar that others should have met. 

A whole stack of really terrible, wtaf ones 

'Almost Champions Ring of Comfort,' M&M's 

This commercial requires too much brain juice. Peanut butter turned into diamonds, waaaat?

The message they were trying to shoot for was that M&Ms are the ultimate comfort food, and that was completely lost in the convoluted plot of this commercial.

'Tina Fey books whoever she wants to be,' Booking.com

It was a common case of a celebrity overtaking the commercial, and the audience completely forgetting/not caring what brand this was advertising. 

'Twist on it', Oreo

Branded rituals can create an elevated experience around an ordinary product, like a cookie. Oreo's Lick Twist Dunk is an example of a longstanding branded ritual. 

'Twist on it' is not a thing and never will be with this creative. 

'Doctor on the Plane', Drumstick

"Dr. Umstick"? One for the "What did I just watch?" pile. Terrible, awful, and creepy. Quite the trifecta. 

Like a Good Neighbaa, State Farms

Critics liked this, but a different-sounding accent isn't someone's best creative idea, and it’s not a concept with longevity either. It's around 7 million dollars for 30 seconds of air time plus production costs. Was this the best use of that money?

'Don't Forget', Uber Eats

This was meh. The teaser featuring the Beckhams was far superior. 

'Hello Down There', Squarespace

I have no idea how this commercial relates to a DIY website. The only kudos this gets is that Squarespace did actually build a website for the campaign: https://www.squarespace.com/hello-down-there. I'm a big fan of campaign landing pages for extending the life of a campaign beyond t a 30-second advert.

The related video by Squarespace was much better at communicating the value proposition: a website makes it real.

Who needs big ideas when you have big names?

Small-medium-sized businesses and creators without big budgets. Regardless of the size of the business, spending all your money on celebrity appearances isn’t a winning marketing strategy.

The difference between a commercial and a campaign is simple. One stand-alone 30-second spot is a commercial, whereas a campaign is a series of advertisements, creatives, and channels all working together to achieve a desired outcome.

“Campaigns are never ending stories” — MT Fletcher.

The biggest missed opportunity was not making these commercials part of a bigger campaign, as most had no longevity beyond Super Bowl Sunday.

Instead of celebrity stuffing, a brand should seek to partner with influencers, ambassords and celebrities over the long term like Dunkin’ Donuts has with Ben Affleck. This spot here was the winner for me:

There's always next year.

Mia Fileman is a senior campaign strategist with 21 years of experience. She has worked in Brand management for Kraft, BIC and Maybelline NY and spent 10 years as an agency director. 

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