Super Bowl: Ads, Irony, and Corporate Creativity

Every year around this time, I would write an article reflecting on the big commercials from America’s big game. You know, the one Taylor's now really into.

In 2020, I found the ads pretty mediocre, and as I searched for something to write about, I took counsel from my cousin, a Creative who at the time was making the very commercials I was about to critique. "Write about the prevalence of borrowed interest in advertising," he said. I ended up writing about the halftime show instead.

For those unaware, borrowed interest refers to the practice of using elements or concepts unrelated to a product or service to capture attention or generate interest. This can involve leveraging popular culture references, trending topics, or emotional triggers that may not directly relate to the product being advertised but are intended to evoke a response or connection from the audience.

In simple terms, it's like when you see an advert for a snack, and instead of showing you the snack, they show a funny, famous dog. They're hoping that because you like the dog, you'll also want to try the snack, even though the dog doesn't have anything to do with the snack. They're borrowing the dog's popularity to make you interested.

To quote myself from that article, "If you watched Patrick Mahomes do his thing on Sunday, the game breaks showed that many brands (and politicians) are trying and failing to tell their story. But you know who understands exactly how to communicate what they stand for? JLo and Shakira. So, let’s talk about that instead."

Read the full piece here on EVCOM’s site from the pre-pandemic era of February 2020.

What’s weird is that much of what I said in 2020 still stands, including Mahomes, but maybe not the halftime show (sorry Usher fans). So, if we're at peak borrowed interest, what should we write about today?

Well, here’s a thought: if you were here for the Season 2 opener, you’ll have heard my breakdown of the evolution of business communications. As your company matures, so does the way it communicates:

1. Branding = Differentiation

2. Advertising = Promotion

3. Corporate Communications = Messaging

The NFL’s biggest day of the year is filled with mature businesses and had its largest audience ever, with 123.4 million sets of eyeballs globally. Thanks, Travis and Taylor. For real, my mum stayed up in the UK to watch this thing because this rom-com has a chokehold on everyone.

This brings me to two key points:

1. I watched the game in Canada, and we didn’t get all the ads during the broadcast because we're not in America. I assume Mama McK didn't get them in the UK either. But the spectacle of the commercials themselves obviously means we would seek them out. So, assume if you had a well-received spot, it hit more than 100 million people around the world.

2. Considering that platform, many of these companies chose to 'promote' products not available globally. The DunKings Iced Coffee, for example, may be made up of “classic iced coffee with notes of vanilla combined with cream, topped with Sweet Cold Foam and a dusting of cinnamon sugar.” But Ben and crew are not on their UK menu at the time of writing.

What am I getting at?

It’s the largest global video communication experience in existence, and we have a number of businesses (excluding obvious outliers like car ads and movie trailers) thinking small. Why not have Ben, Matt, JLo, and TB12 make a corporate video (with all that top-notch creativity behind it) to win the ultimate game?

Dunkin' (along with Arby's, Baskin Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy Johns, and SONIC) are owned by Inspire Brands.

They have $31 billion in global system sales, 32,000 restaurants, 650,000 company and franchise team members. They're in 57 global markets and have 3,300 franchisees and licenses.

Their purpose? To ignite and nourish flavorful experiences (more on this type of word soup in later episodes). Their vision? To invigorate great brands and supercharge their long-term growth (much better).

Their Good Citizens Report is 73 pages long - it details aspirations for their business and ongoing sustainability initiatives, their desire to put people first, and the transformative work they do in communities.

Co-Founder and CEO Paul Brown, in his introductory letter to readers of this report, claims: "At Inspire, we are MAVERICKS sparking a culture of innovation and VISIONARIES welcoming extraordinary ideas to thrive at every level."

Well, Paul, here's my thought - be a Maverick and a Visionary. Next year, consider making some serious creative. Tell the Inspire story (with or without Bennifer). Entertain people so they both understand your business and your impact on the world.

In fact, why don't y'all try it? Pfizer tried and failed, but at least they came to play.

P.S. - I know about the Inspire Chicken controversy. I believe big businesses have the influence and resources to change the world for the better. I don’t believe they get it right all the time, or even most of the time. But helping them tell their stories in a truthful and authentic way is important for them and for us normal folks to know. It’s unrealistic to expect businesses of today to be perfect. It’s not unrealistic to want them to be better, to try, to sometimes fail, and sometimes get it right.

Jon Stewart (on his recent return to The Daily Show) gave a beautiful monologue about the gun problem in the US that is relevant to the vitriol thrown at Corporate America. The pro-gun crew suggests measures to address the issue aren't worth doing because they don't completely solve the problem. Stewart compared it to road accidents, where multiple small changes to many different laws made an incremental impact over time to significantly increase road safety. No one is looking for an absolute solution, and that should be how we look at the big corporations. Get curious about who owns what, get interested in what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong, and what they're doing to address it.

One thing is for sure, the Inspire brands of the world are going nowhere. They're all big players in your communities. Educate yourself and look to good corporate communicators to help you.

As you were,

MrMcK.

P.P.S. I fully grasp the irony of writing about the Super Bowl commercials and calling out the use of borrowed interest 😉😉😉.