Month: January 2020

This Sunday, February 2, Super Bowl LIV will finally take place in Miami at Hard Rock stadium. It will include the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the San Francisco 49ner’s. Since the NFL Conference Championship games that were played almost two weeks ago now there have been many Super Bowl ads and teasers released. An average 30-second spot ad during this year’s Super Bowl costs over $5 million and up to $5.6 million.

One of the ads that you’ve must have heard about was a 30-second teaser from Planters in which they killed off their iconic Mr. Peanut mascot. This was one of the ads that had been getting the most responses on social media. Many were posting tributes to the mascot, who was created in 1916. Planters planned to run the ad on television before the game, along with a spot of Mr. Peanut’s funeral during the game’s third quarter. The brand was encouraging people to “pay their respects” by participating in its social media campaign and by entering a contest to win Mr. Peanut swag.

However, due to the real and horrific death of nine people in the helicopter crash that included Kobe Bryant and this 13-year old daughter, Gianna, the brand has paused their campaign. A spokesperson for Planters said that the pause only impacts paid advertising on channels like Twitter and YouTube an some other outreach in the immediate wake of this tragedy. However, they have not yet said that they are changing their plans for Super Bowl Sunday which includes a spot that features Mr. Peanut’s Funeral.

Walmart announced this week that it will air its first-time Super Bowl television commercial to highlight the benefits of its expanding pickup service. Walmart was actually founded five years before the first Super Bowl in 1967 and has held out as an advertiser in the Big Game for more than 50 years up till now. The ad it titled “Famous Visitors” includes a 60-second TV spot which will run during the game that shows 12 characters from popular movies and TV programs who “touch down on Earth” from “across the galaxy” to collect groceries and other products at Walmart curbside pickup stations.

Here’s an ad that has not gotten much publicity but was shared on Facebook by my daughter Alex, who is a veterinarian. A 30-second commercial from WeatherTech will feature the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine that will air Sunday during the game’s second quarter. WeatherTech, an automotive accessories, home and pet care products manufacturer, is paying for this $6 million spot along with supplying the talent, company founder and CEO David MacNeil’s golden retriever, Scout.

A 30-second commercial from WeatherTech will feature the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine that will air Sunday during the game’s second quarter. WeatherTech, an automotive accessories, home and pet care products manufacturer, is paying for this $6 million spot along with supplying the talent, company founder and CEO David MacNeil’s dog, Scout.

MacNeil had lost three previous dogs to cancer and was devastated when an ultrasound identified an aggressive cancer on Scout’s heart that left him with no more than a month to live, according to the university. A recommendation from a local veterinarian led MacNeil last summer to UW Veterinary Care, the school’s teaching hospital. Oncologist David Vail and other hospital specialists stabilized Scout’s condition and came up with an aggressive treatment plan. Some of the faculty and staff will appear alongside the 7-year-old golden retriever in the commercial that follows Scout’s journey to recovery. My daughter, Alex, spent her last year of clinical studies at U W-M in their veterinary school and now works at the Golf-Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg, IL. We are also currently dog parents to Molly, our 4 1/2 year old golden retriever.

Many brands have all created some great ads and campaigns to help make their Super Bowl investment pay off. I’ll post once more next week to summarize how the actual game was as well as how the ads scored. We’ll also get to see how well the Pepsi Half Time show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira was received. I’m sure these two ladies will definitely entertain us. And yes, it should also be a great game between two really good teams that I’m looking forward to.

Last weekend we got to watch the two NFL Conference Games that determined which teams are now headed to Super Bowl LIV. First we watched the Kansas City Chiefs take down the Tennessee Titans to make it to their first Super Bowl in 50 years. The Chiefs says that they’re happy to earn their head coach, Andy Reid, another chance at a Super Bowl. In the second game of the day the San Francisco 49ner’s took the lead first and stayed there the whole game to beat the Green Bay Packers.  Both teams now headed to the Super Bowl have a great offense, but trying to stop Patrick Mahomes, the  Chiefs quarterback, is a tough job. However, the 49er’s have one of the best defenses in football today. So we should be able to watch a great game taking place on Sunday, February 2, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Between now and then we’ll be hearing more about all the marketing and advertising associated with the Super Bowl. In my Road to the Super Bowl post last week I mentioned that Fox Sports, who is broadcasting the game, had sold out of spots running during the game back in November. Several brands have announced the ads that they will be running, including some major vehicle brands. One car brand that is not running an ad, but has created an interesting campaign around “The Big Game” is, Volvo USA.

Volvo has declared February 2, the same day as the Super Bowl, “Volvo Safety Sunday”. The Volvo Cars Safety Sunday Sweepstakes will give away $1 million in cars if a safety takes place during the Super Bowl. To participate, consumers must visit VolvoSafetySunday.com between now and just before the game begins. On the site, visitors are encouraged to design their own Volvo from 2020 models, adding the features of their choice. On the summary page, participants will be presented with a “Try to Win This Volvo” button. Clicking on it creates a unique configuration code, which is necessary to enter the sweepstakes.

Volvo is hoping to draw a comparison between a safety during game play, which can change the course of a game, and the automaker’s own safety features, which it claims have been a game-changer for millions of people. A safety is a relatively rare occurrence in football that happens when an offensive team is tackled, loses or fumbles the ball in their own end zone, which scores the defensive team two points.

Giving away $1 million in Volvo cars is cheaper than buying a Super Bowl ad, which cost on average around $5 million for a 30-second spot. Volvo doesn’t have to award any of the prizes if a safety doesn’t happen. Still, if a safety does take place, Volvo has purchased what we call “Prize Insurance”. The insurance company works up what the odds are of a safety happening and charges a fee based on those odds. If a safety happens, the insurance company will pay for the value of the prizes. Las Vegas is offering 6-1 odds on a safety occurring during the big game. Volvo is working with the same insurance company we work when we require prize insurance as well.

We’ll have to get use to Sundays with no football soon. For now we have Super Bowl Sunday to look forward to. As I said it should be a good game and many of the ads will entertain us as well. I’ll feature a couple more of then next week, so check back.

The Road to the Super Bowl has moved forward. Last weekend was the NFL divisional playoffs with four teams that got to clean out their lockers the next day for the season. The big surprise was the loss of the Baltimore Ravens who had been on a winning streak until they took a couple of weeks off. So this Sunday it will be the Tennessee Titans vs. the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship and the Green Bay Packers vs. the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship. The two teams that win each game will then move on to play in Super Bowl LIV in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on February 3.

In last week’s post about the Super Bowl I wrote about who’s performing for the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show and Pepsi’s Super Bowl Halftime Sweepstakes. Fox Sports is broadcasting the game and back in November they stated that they had sold all its available commercial inventory, 77 slots in total. Normally the network broadcasting the game hasn’t sold out this early and they believe that advertisers are looking for more live telecasts. Fox has been selling 30-second ads to run during the game of over $5 million and as much as $5.6 million. Last year CBS sought between $5.1 – $5.3 million for a package of inventory in its 2019 game.

Two of the most expensive ads will be from the campaigns of Democratic presidential nominee contender Michael Bloomberg and President Donald Trump who will each spend approximately $10 million to buy 60 seconds worth of advertising during this year’s Super Bowl. Bloomberg’s goal is in “getting under Trump’s skin” with the ad buy, as expressed by a Bloomberg campaign spokesperson. Bloomberg is using his own money for the ad. While Trump’s campaign is drawing funds from the Republican National Committee. This year the Super Bowl, watched by nearly 100 million people last year, falls the day before the Democratic caucuses in Iowa.

Frito-Lay, an official Super Bowl sponsor, is bringing Cheetos and Doritos back with Super Bowl ads. Doritos has been in the game multiple times including a decade of “Crash the Super Bowl” contests in which they invited amateurs to submit commercials from which the winners spots aired during the game. More recently they have been including celebrities in their ads. This year they confirmed two 30-second spots. One will feature Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Terry Bradshaw and Tony Gonzalez that includes the Doritos, Lay’s and Tostitos brands along with Bradshaw wearing Tostitos boxer shorts. Other food brands that have confirmed Super Bowl ads are Avocados From Mexico, Heinz, Pop-Tarts, Pringles, Sabra and Snickers.

Hyundai is one of several automobile companies running Super Bowl Ads. They have already launched this teaser ad showcasing a funny Boston-accent lesson between Big Papi and Rachel Dratch. Great to see David Ortiz looking good and having fun after a horrible shooting almost cost him his life! Other auto brands running ads include Audi, Kia, Toyota and Porsche (first all-electric vehicle).

I said in my post last week that a 49ers vs. Ravens match up would be a great Super Bowl game. That’s definitely not happening now. So, Kansas City here they come!

Happy New Year! Welcome to the new decade. I hope everyone’s holidays were great and you were able to share the time with family and friends. It’s taken me a little bit to get caught up and back to writing for this blog, but here I am. It’s already the 10th of January which means we’re way into the 2020 NFL Playoff season and a countdown to Super Bowl LIV. I normally take the first month of the year in this blog to discuss football and many of the marketing, advertising and promotional activities that surround it. So let’s start by reviewing where we stand.

First off, Super Bowl LIV will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on February 2. We are now down to the divisional playoff games which are this weekend. We’ve already had the Wild Card Weekend and my team, the Buffalo Bills, played in it, but had a heartbreaking lost to the Houston Texans. But we have great hope for them next year!

Here are the teams that will be playing this weekend that are listed in the screen below. They are the Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49er’s, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, the Houston Texans, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seattle Se hawks and the Green Bay Packers.

Marketing and promotions tied into the Super Bowl have been running even before we started the Playoff season. Pepsi, who has been an official Super Bowl sponsor, again ran their Super Bowl Sweepstakes which offers a chance to win a trip for two to be on the field for Pepsi’s Halftime Show.  This year we will be entertained by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. To enter the Sweepstakes Pepsi invited people in December to follow Pepsi on Twitter and tweet @Pepsi with the hashtag #PepsiHalftimeSweeps. The trip includes round trip airline transportation to Miami, a hotel room for three nights, round trip ground transportation to and from Miami airport, the halftime show and $400 in spending money. Pepsi makes it clear that watching the game won’t be on the itinerary with this stated in the rules “No ability to attend or watch the game will be provided.” This Sweepstakes has now ended and 17 Grand Prize Winners have been selected.

One of my favorite brands is also an Official Sponsor and running a sweepstakes to win a trip to the game.  The Olay Super Bowl LIV Trip Sweepstakes just kicked off on January 7 and runs till January 20. People can enter through the brand’s loyalty program, Club Olay. For new Club Olay members people need to become a member by creating an account and once registered, click the “Enter Sweeps” button to receive an entry. Existing Club Olay members who are subscribed to receive emails need to log-in and click the “Enter Sweeps” button.  Existing Club Olay members who are not subscribed to receive emails must first opt-in to receive future communications.

Grand prize winner will receive a 4-day/3-night trip to Miami, FL for themselves and a guest to attend Super Bowl LIV. The prize package includes round trip airfare for two, hotel accommodations for 3 nights and $100 Uber gift card.

I’m looking forward this weekend to be entertained by some great football games. I was lucky enough to get Lamar Jackson on my Fantasy team this year, so now that the Bills are out of the playoffs, I’m going with the Ravens. A 49’ers vs. Ravens Super Bowl match up would be great.