As companies pay the ever-increasing price tag to be seen during the Big Game, we also have to ask the question: how can your ad succeed with the world watching? As we have seen, there are many benefits that come from advertising at the Super Bowl, but these can only be achieved properly with an effective ad. Of all the Super Bowl ads run in 2022, two out of three scored ‘Average’ in overall performance, while only 12% of them scored ‘Strong’, when ran through Kantar’s Link AI.
Kantar research shows that the most effective Super Bowl commercials tend to focus on four themes:
- Relatable human insights
- A brighter future
- Pragmatic solutions
- The growing theme of ‘me prevailing’ over ‘we prevailing’ – highlighting the importance of celebrating personal achievements
But, perhaps most importantly, Super Bowl content themes underscore possibly the biggest, enduring marketing truth: “the best type of storytelling is that which is in lockstep with culture.”
For example, in 2022, representation was a key theme and inclusion and diversity both proved to have significant power in advertising. Global MONITOR data shows that 65% of consumers say that it’s important that the companies they buy from actively promote diversity and inclusion in their own business or society as a whole – but they’re only effective if you get them right.
We also saw a huge uptick in the use of celebrities in Super Bowl advertisements. In fact, 70% of all 2022 ads featured celebrities, up 10% from 2021. Per previous years Kantar Creative Guardrails studies, Super Bowl ads with celebrities saw a 20% increase in brand equity compared to those which did not feature them. Going deep, companies tried to tie themselves to celebrities the public already knew and revered, demonstrated by the 15 Oscar and 20 Emmy nominated or winning actors and actresses seen throughout all of the commercials. That said, the use of celebrities works if they are integral to the brand story.
If your company is planning to release a new product, a Super Bowl ad is the best outlet to do that as well. Super Bowl Ads for new products are 20% more effective at driving awareness than ads that don’t run in the Super Bowl. In 2022, we saw a lot of new offerings from advertisers, ranging from electric vehicles to crypto currency.
For more information on preparing a Super Bowl ad for 2023 or to discover the best Super Bowl ads of all time, and the lessons we can learn from them, get in touch with Kantar today. We use data insights to help your brand make the most of the advertising opportunity of the Big Game while the power of Kantar tools can even tell you how your Super Bowl ad for 2023 performs.