The Super Bowl is the most viewed sporting event in the United States, capturing the attention of up to 100m people on Super Sunday in early February. The event features the best two teams in the NFL, facing off for the prize of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Live sporting events are still the one area that can draw families and friends around the television at the same time in mass, and no game is more successful in that achievement than the Super Bowl. It helps that a lot of the recent contests have been enthralling spectacles, but even non-NFL fans are still drawn for the excitement of the commercials during the game.
Due to the core audience, the Super Bowl has bucked the trend of a decline in funds spent on advertising on television according to research performed by Betway. The excitement of the game and who is the leading contender in the NFL lines is complemented by the leading companies producing memorable advertisements.
As a result, the cost of a 30-second spot for Super Bowl LIV is on the rise, up $5.6m – a seven percent rise from last season. Fox and the NFL are poised to profit, although the opportunity to broadcast to a diverse audience cannot be understated for businesses that are looking to expand their customer base. We’ll now look at the two of the best commercials that have been deployed during past Super Bowls.
Apple (1984)
Apple unleashed their commercial during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII during the third quarter of the contest. The game itself was a damp squib as the Los Angeles Raiders eased past the Washington Redskins.
During the commercial, Apple released the concept of the Apple Macintosh computer. The advertisement used themes from the novel ‘1984’ by George Orwell to great effect, promoting on how their product would not lend itself to the tyranny found in the novel and film. It is still widely regarded as the greatest commercial of Super Bowl history.
Bud Light (2019)
Bud Light already had success with their medieval-themed commercials, featuring the infamous catchphrase ‘dilly dilly’. They teamed up with Game of Thrones ahead of the launch of the final series of the hit television show. The Bud Knight faced off against The Mountain in a duel and lost in a scene eerily familiar to fans of Thrones before the Bud Light king was wiped out by Drogon the dragon. Fortunately, he made a miraculous recovery to appear in the New England Patriots’ parade after their Super Bowl LIII victory.
Review
Both commercials produced major success for leading brands in the world. The 2019 advertisement was the first Game of Thrones-themed trailer ahead of their final series – highlighting the value they placed on having a spot in the Super Bowl. Apple meanwhile have used their success from 1984 to become perhaps the leading brand in the world for technology. It’s quite the scoop to have an advert in the Super Bowl and having a commercial that will be played over again on social media or other online platforms is a vital tool for any business looking to re-affirm or establish themselves in the mainstream.
Anurag Choudhari is the co-founder of Geekenized Technologies LLP, a web development & digital marketing agency that helps various SMBs & SMEs in developing & maintaining their online presence.
