What Advertisers Could Learn from Super Bowl Commercials

I know, I'm running a little behind, but ever since the Super Bowl I have wanted to comment on an observation I have made. An observation that might unlock the secret to successful television advertising. Although recent surveys have indicated that more people watched this year for the game rather than the commercials, commercials have been a substantial driver for the big game for several years. The question is, why?

The reasons we see, read, and hear about in the news is that the companies save their best for this special occasion. We also hear about the huge amount of money being spent on these particular commercials. All of these may be true, but there is one thing that stands head and shoulders above these others -- the commercials during the Super Bowl are virtually all original and are seen for the first time during the game. Other than a few "sneak previews" in the weeks proceeding, the spots during this game have never been seen before. This is a concept that commercials can and, in my opinion, should apply as much of possible throughout the year.

Currently, two of the more successful ad campaigns are the spots for Geico and Aflac. Geico, with its current "caveman" campaign (see photo above) is providing a continuous story line that people enjoy following. Meanwhile, Aflac's spots with the duck remind me of a book a little kid would read, with each spot having a completely different storyline. What they have in common is that they both compel the viewer to check out the spot and to see what is going on in the lives of the primary characters. They are, essentially, very short TV programs with heavy product placement. The caveman is now taking his anguish of being made fun of in the Geico commercials to a therapists (the theme of the spots are that getting a rate is so easy, "even a caveman can do it") and has even defended his species on a news program. We all want to know what is going to happen next. These companies incorporate "Super Bowl" originality on an on going basis.

I believe companies should learn from Geico, Aflac, and the Super Bowl. Companies might want to turn to TV show writers or create an online forum where people could submit story ideas and make the commercials actually "customer driven." The latter could be very affordable and make perfect sense in the "YouTube" world in which we live. Consumers are very tough on media these days. They are not going to patiently trade time for programming, especially since they can increasingly get their content free online. If commercials are going to survive, they are going to have to give viewers a reason to watch.

ABC Taking Geico Caveman Prime Time?

It's true, ABC seems very interested in having a series based around the character in the quite famous Geico TV commercials. I say "real" TV series (with quotation marks), because the commercials already are just that -- a series of commercials with an actual storyline (one of the reasons the network became so interested in it). They are a mini TV series. All ABC will do is make them an actual show with a little less product placement.

I have been impressed by these commercials for quite some time and commented on them weeks ago. They are important to the world of advertising because they recognize one of the biggest challenges facing sales and marketing today -- how do you keep the consumer's interest? The era of the same old commercial -- regardless of how cute, clever, or even sexy -- being enough for the viewer to take notice is over. In the future, commercials will look like actual programming.

In the March Issue of Wired Magazine the cover story is about our "snack culture" in which individuals want small pieces of entertainment that they can consume quickly and then move on to other items. This lends very well to the Internet and to companies smart enough to take an advertising approach like Geico. These cavemen commercials are revolutionary today, I predict they will be common place tomorrow.

Geico Gets Increasingly Clever

I love the Geico Caveman commercial and I believe the company is brilliant at getting its message out. However, I'm equally excited about the new commercial on "a better way of spending 15 minutes online." In the new commercial the company shows individuals making complete fools of themselves and aspiring to be "YouTube stars." Time better spent would be finding a better rate for car insurance.

I'm fairly certain that they got the spots from YouTube and will further feed that insane frenzy. I wouldn't be surprised if Geico take this concept to the next level and create their own "YouTube" type platform or create a strategic alliance with YouTube in which Geico gives exposure to the videos and YouTube creates a special (and prominently displayed) area for people to submit them.

Increasingly advertisers are going to have to offer "more." More reasons to watch, more creative ways of making sure the message is heard, and variety in the messages. Those who recognize such will find their advertising much more successful.