Who won the #SuperBowl?

So – we’ve established that brands spent an almost unfathomable amount of money on a one-day event (in excess of $300,000,000 on TV ads alone), so now seems a good time to try and assess who made some headway in the marketing race and who was left floundering.

Oreo led the charge when it comes to doing something differently, purchasing the first ever Super Bowl ads with programmatic technology, although they were only shown regionally. Cited as being back to their old savvy marketing self and leading innovators adopting this game changing automated ad buying technology. Something to add to their impressive SuperBowl marketing history.

Moving on, here is a snapshot of some of our winners and losers .....

WINNERS

Missy Elliott 
The big winner of the half-time show was not, as might be expected, Katy Perry, but rather Missy Elliott, whose Spotify streams (already substantial) increased by 676%...OVERNIGHT. Her track, “Lose Control,” which she performed solo while KP had a quick change, achieved the largest jump, with a pretty out-of-control 1,396% hike. Indeed, the three tracks she unleashed (the other two being fellow 00’s classics “Get Ur Freak On” and “Work It”) ended up in the iTunes top 10 singles. Now that’s a result!

Newcastle Brown Ale: 
Played the digital game brilliantly – especially through use of their social media channels. An ingenious satire of the media frenzy was delectably pre-promoted and then superbly executed as a great piece of ambush marketing. They couldn't afford the $4.5m for a 30 second ad and Anheuser-Busch (i.e. Bud Light and Budweiser) had airtime locked up, so they ‘crowdsourced’ a TV spot with 37 other companies and aired on NBC affiliate channels in their #BandOfBrands campaign. The spot - which you can watch here - was fun, catchy and used digital media in a lateral and hugely effective way.

Twitter 
Still the undisputed hub for real-time marketing. Despite attempts by its key competitors (see ‘Losers’ below) Twitter maintained its grip on the title. With over 28 million tweets referencing “#SuperBowl” or “#SB49” (let alone all the brands, people, teams, etc. attached to the event), it was certainly the crux of the frenzy.

Always 

The rehashed ‘Like a girl’ campaign stole the ad show. Although the Liam Neeson ‘Revenge’ ad for Clash of Clans was a Pure Media favourite and comedy highlight, the P&G brand has successfully highlighted the clear idiocy of “like a girl” as being associated with weakness and inferiority. It was a categorical insult which has rightfully been ‘called out’. As of Tuesday, the hashtag #likeagirl had in excess of 270,000 mentions and more than 340,000 tweets.

LOSERS:

Nationwide: 
The backlash against Nationwide’s spot (which focussed on children’s death by preventable accidents) was swift, prolonged and crushing. The callousness and lack of ‘fit’ for the occasion is pretty obvious, though the insurance company released a statement claiming that it was intending to start a debate rather than sell policies...either way, the internet is now awash with disparaging comment and parodies.

McDonald’s: 
The Golden Arches tried to schmooze pretty much every person and every brand on Twitter in some kind of love-in/ giveaway. Piggybacking on the respective spots, the fast food retailer didn't really earn themselves any positive vibes – it was a neat piece of real-time marketing, but didn't have the cut through of other campaigns…or the genuine feel.

YouTube and Facebook: 
YouTube boldly tried to divert its mainly millennial fanbase’s attentions and make their second screen into their primary one, by staging a competing half time show. However, this was – frankly – unsuccessful. Likewise, Facebook (despite claiming it’s “biggest ever SuperBowl”) ended up streets behind the powerhouse that is Twitter when it comes to real-time marketing.

The SuperBowl is a massive event in the calendar and as with every big game, there are winners and losers. There were brands (and individuals) that successfully navigated the melee to stand out and get their money's worth. 

On the flipside, there were those who blew their budgets - or hard-earned brand image and trust - without a lot to show for it. #PurePoint