Time for GM to Get in the Game

General Motors, a long time Super Bowl advertiser, decided earlier this year not to advertise during the big game in 2009.

On the surface this seems like a reasonable decision; the Super Bowl is expensive and people aren’t buying many cars right now anyway.  And, with the company getting government support, a big investment in Super Bowl advertising would look bad.

I think GM is making a huge mistake.

The core problem facing GM is that people don’t want to buy its cars.  This has long been the problem; the company has steadily been losing market share as people turn to other brands.  Cost issues are a problem, of course, but mainly because people won’t pay a premium for GM cars.  GM’s high costs wouldn’t be a problem if the result was a superior quality product that people really wanted and would pay more for.

GM’s woes have deepened in recent weeks because people are worried the company won’t survive.  Buying a car from a defunct company doesn’t seem like a great idea; trade-in values would be low and service would be expensive and difficult.

What GM really needs, now, is to get people to buy its cars.  And the only way GM will get people to buy its cars is to give them a reason to buy.  Simply put, GM needs to explain to people why this is a great time to buy a car.

More importantly, GM has to project confidence.  The company has to be confident in its products and confident in its future.

The best way to project confidence and get the company moving is to invest in the Super Bowl and portray GM as a refocused, determined, confident company.

Walking away from the Super Bowl in 2009 sends precisely the wrong message.

My advice to GM:  get in the game.

- Tim Calkins

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Boring? Not a Chance

At least one advertising industry pundit is predicting a dull Super Bowl.  Jim Edwards, a former editor at Adweek, wrote recently that “…the 2009 big game is potentially shaping up to be the dullest on record.”  You can read his piece here:

http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/1000437/super-bowl-ads-shaping-up-to-be-most-boring-ever/

I disagree completely.  Indeed I think the 2009 Super Bowl will be fascinating to watch.

For the average viewer, the Super Bowl should be full of interesting, engaging spots.  Advertisers have learned over the years that people expect to see highly entertaining commercials during the Super Bowl.  Every advertiser will try to deliver, and every advertising agency will do its best.  Any advertiser with common sense will test each spot to be sure it delivers and resonates.

And many of the big guns of Super Bowl advertising will be there.  Budweiser is back.  Pepsi is back.  CareerBuilder is back.  Coke is back.

For anyone interested in marketing, the 2009 Super Bowl will be particularly fascinating.  Things to watch for:

-How will advertisers adjust their message given the difficult economic times?  Will humor carry the day, once again? Or will a more somber, sober tone prevail?

-Who will win the Pepsi vs. Coke battle?  Will Pepsi, the long time Super Bowl advertiser, prevail?  Or will Coke again carry the day, repeating 2008’s achievement?  Remember that Coke will be starting from a weak spot since Pepsi has locked up the first half.

-How will Monster and CareerBuilder match up?  Monster is back this year, challenging CareerBuilder.  Will CareerBuilder come through with creative on par with its terrific chimps campaign of 2005 and 2006?

-What will Bob Parsons do next?  Will GoDaddy again step over the fine line of good taste?  Or perhaps the question is more accurately phrased:  how far over that line will GoDaddy go?

-What will GE do with its spot on the game?

More to come!

- Tim Calkins

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Bud is Back to Build Brand Through Entertainment and Heritage

One of my favorite Super Bowl advertisers over the last several years has been Budweiser. Why do I like Budweiser? It has to do with respect and admiration for their strategic playbook. Budweiser has, for many years, implemented a two-stage offense when it comes to the Super Bowl. First, there are the Bud Light spots designed to entertain the consumer and often show the great lengths consumers will go to for a Bud Light. Many probably can remember the driver willing to pick up hitchhikers sporting axes and chainsaws because they also happen to have Bud Light. However, the second stage of the offense, and the one I have personally admired the most, is that Budweiser has dedicated one spot to remind the user of the equity and the heritage of the Budweiser brand. I refer to these commercials as the “equity spots.”

The Budweiser equity spots over the last three years have been, in my opinion, some of the most enjoyable to watch and clearly communicate, to me, the equity the brand is trying to maintain. Last year it was the Clydesdale seen training in Budweiser’s rendition of the famous Rocky montage. The year before it was the dog who, though not born a Dalmatian, nonetheless managed to get his spots so that he could ride in the fire truck. And, the year before that (yes, these advertisements really have stuck with me), was the young Clydesdale who could not pull the cart out of the barn himself, but received  some “unnoticed assistance.”

This year, Budweiser had a widely-discussed change in ownership. While it’s not clear if they will make some reference to this change, reports suggest that they have the same two-stage approach in mind for their advertising. I think this action speaks well of the new owners. While it might be tempting for new ownership to completely revamp one’s advertising and identity, there is also a lot to be said for recognizing a winning formula when one has it.

Now, it might strike many that Budweiser is a safe pick when it comes to choosing a favorite, or even successful, advertiser. Fair enough. However, for me it is not just the fact that they are successful. What I like is that I can understand the strategy driving that success and it shows that advertising isn’t all smoke and mirrors…brands can be strategic in their thinking and this can lead to success for years to come.

- Derek Rucker

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Walking the Tightrope

There is a lot to be excited about in this year’s Super Bowl. However, one of the aspects I am most keen on seeing unfold is how successful various brands are in developing advertisements that work with consumers given the current economic climate. To me, two key challenges arise to Super Bowl advertisers as a result of today’s economy.

First, can advertisers successfully deliver a message with the right tonality to resonate with consumers’ current emotions? This feat requires a strong understanding of the consumer mind and an ability to tailor a message to speak to the consumer. Brands might seize the opportunity of the day to accomplish this task, but I also suspect many will play it safe by ignoring the issue all together.

Second, can brands walk the tightrope of spending an approximate $3 million on a 30-second spot without looking wasteful? After all, Under Armour drew a lot of scrutiny for jumping into last year’s game, so I imagine brands will receive even more intense scrutiny with the current economy. It will be interesting to see whether consumers view the presence of various brands in the Super Bowl as having financial fortitude or ineptitude.

I think these will be fun questions to keep an eye on, and I think this is also an excellent opportunity for possible “best” and “worst” case approaches in times of economic hardship. Let’s hope that we see more “best” case examples!

- Derek Rucker

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One Way to Win

When it comes to marketing, there are two ways to win the Super Bowl.

One way is to create the best marketing campaign: A campaign that is grounded in consumer insight and inspired by creativity. A campaign that leverages the power of public relations to create buzz , excitement and drama.

The other way to win is to simply block out your competitors. If you are the only advertiser in your category, you are by definition the winner. If only one football team shows up for the Super Bowl, they will walk away the champion. Similarly, if only one advertiser in a category shows up, they walk away the winner.

For 2009, Pepsi is apparently taking the second approach; this week Pepsi announced that it had signed a deal making it the only non-alcoholic beverage advertiser in the first half of the Super Bowl, traditionally the most valuable time period. Pepsi didn’t reveal the cost, but we can safely assume the deal was not free.

Why did Pepsi take such a step? I suspect the move reflects the fact that Pepsi has been losing out to Coke on the Super Bowl. While Pepsi has long been one of the core Super Bowl advertisers, the company has struggled in recent games, airing some uninspired creative. Coke, however, has been building momentum.

Last year’s game clearly showed the shift in fortunes. Coke was one of the top advertisers in the 2008 Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review. Coke aired two terrific spots, one featuring inflatable balloons fighting over a Coke and another featuring two politicians (James Carville and Bill Frist) coming together over a Coke. The spots were product-focused and entertaining, with terrific linkage between the spot and the brand.

Pepsi, however, struggled in 2008. Pepsi’s Gatorade, for example, aired one of the most astonishing Super Bowl spots ever; the spot featured a dog slurping some liquid, presumably Gatorade. The spot made absolutely no sense.

To avoid another loss to Coke, Pepsi is spending money to block out the competition. This isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but it does indicate a loss of confidence; if you have the best team you don’t have to keep your competitors off the field.

- Tim Calkins

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Welcome to the “kickoff” of the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review Blog!

As mid-December rolls around, it’s time once again to turn our thoughts to that most notable of marketing events: the Super Bowl. The marketing world’s biggest event falls on February 1, 2009, which is, remarkably, less than two months from now.

Once again this year, the Kellogg School of Management will evaluate the lineup of Super Bowl commercials to identify those advertisers who excel and the ones who fall short.

This is the fifth year of the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review. When the event first occurred back in 2004, the Review was primarily created to be a learning tool for Kellogg students. Experiential learning is exceptionally important at Kellogg, and the Super Bowl Advertising Review gives Kellogg students an opportunity to evaluate advertising in real time.

Over the past five years, the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review has evolved into one of the most credible and eagerly anticipated Super Bowl advertising polls. In 2008, for example, dozens of top media outlets covered the outcome of the Review based on Kellogg’s rankings and marketing insights.

The Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review is unique because the focus is on evaluating effectiveness, not just humor or likeability. Sure, there are many Super Bowl advertising panels out there. Most of them, however, simply look at which spots are most entertaining. At Kellogg, the focus is different: which spots are most likely to build the business and build the brand?

This year, for the first time, Kellogg marketing professor Derek Rucker and I will be blogging in the weeks leading up the game and immediately after. We will highlight news about the advertisers and provide our perspectives on how the event is taking shape. We will also provide more insight into the methodology of the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review, and look back at some of the highs and lows of previous games.

Don’t just sit on the sidelines – we welcome your questions and comments! You can reach me at t-calkins@kellogg.northwestern.edu, and you can reach Professor Rucker at d-rucker@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

More to come!

 

- Tim Calkins

 

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