A lot of creativity goes into Super ads

Associatd Press

NEW YORK

A timely Tweet that was praised. A story of a baby Clydesdale growing up that tugged at heart strings. A Jamaican accent that caused controversy.

In the world of advertising, any publicity can be good publicity. The goal is get people talking. And there’s no bigger stage in advertising than the Super Bowl, which for the last few years has been one of the most-watched events in U.S. TV history with more than 100 million viewers tuning in.

Companies spend millions to create Super Bowl ads that they hope will have people gabbing around the water cooler the next day. But the holy grail is keeping them talking weeks, months and even a year later.

This year, dozens of big companies from Pepsi to Chobani are spending an estimated $4 million for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday in hopes they’ll do just that. But as they gear up for the biggest day in advertising, they can take lessons from some of the most talked-about ads from last year.

Here’s a look back at how those ads came to be:

DUNK IN THE DARK

Last year’s Super Bowl taught advertisers the power of a good defense. One of the most memorable Super Bowl ads was a spur-of-the moment social-media post by Oreo that went viral.

When a blackout hit the stadium early in the third quarter last year, Oreo was prepared to create instant social-media content because the cookie-maker and its digital agency 360i had been working on a campaign for Oreo’s 100th anniversary. The campaign featured a different ad every day that responds to news events for 100 days.

About 10 people at a 360i’s social media command center in New York immediately huddled with others on the phone. Ideas flew back and forth. Ten minutes later, the ad was out on Twitter and Facebook. No one recalls who came up with the ad, which featured an image of an Oreo in partial darkness and the tagline “You can still dunk in the dark.”

CLYDESDALE APPEAL

Some Super Bowl themes never seem to grow old for viewers, as Anheuser-Busch learned last year.

The beer maker, which is known for using Clydesdales in ads, last year depicted a Clydesdale growing up with his trainer and then recognizing him years later during a parade in Chicago in a spot called “Brotherhood.” Fleetwood Mac’s ballad “Landslide” played in the background.

VOLKSWAGEN GOES REGGAE

Sometimes ads are better known for their controversy. Take Volkswagen’s “Get Happy” for the VW Passat Super Bowl last year.

The company’s ad last year depicts the life of a white, middle American office employee so happy he drives a Passat that he starts speaking in a Jamaican accent, much to the consternation of his co-workers.

The company, which released the ad before the Super Bowl, was surprised when it generated a flurry of controversy. Some people said it bordered on racist because it portrayed the Jamaican accent as a caricature.

The furor was quelled, however, by Jamaicans. “Very quickly, the Jamaican tourism board and Jamaicans themselves came to our side and said it was not an issue,” Justin Osborne, general manager of brand and marketing communications for Volkswagen.