Super Bowl commercial are about $3 million a pop, and marketers need to maximize their investment more than ever.  In a recent Ad Age article, ”the ads from the big game racked up 99.5 million collective online views, according to Visible Measures, which tallies viral-video data; 98.7 million people watched the game on TV, per Nielsen. It’s further proof that while Super Bowl is still valuable because it’s one of the last high-profile, mass-media TV events, it’s maximized with an ongoing online effort.”

The numbers are impressive, and Super Bowl marketers need to maximize their investment and should consider search, social, and the commercial call to action (think about Denny’s call to action for a Free Grand Slam Breakfast).  Hey, if you only have one shot at the 98 million viewers, make it worth your while — and worth the viewer’s time.

 The tactics outlined in the Ad Age article are good advice for any Super Bowl Marketer, but they are just tactics.   Marketers need to think about how to make a lasting impression in 30-seconds.  One commercial.  One shot at 98 million people.

Effectiveness begins with thinking about the massive  audience watching the game – all 98 million people.  Very few brands appeal to a majority people watching.   Understanding this, the commercial, the campaign must appeal to as many people as possible.  And to reach the majority of people, marketers need to implement standard video  formulas and macro-trends that appeal to the masses.  

Adopt a Winning Formula
Standard video  formulas are common knowledge and followed by many marketers when they create video.  Just look at YouTube viewership and you will find evidence of the standard formulas.  Standard formulas include humor,  sex-appeal, celebrity, gimmick, or water-cooler topics. 

The problem with implementing a standard formula is it is rarely, if ever, about the product.  It is about the viewer, and the entertainment value of the commercial or video.  Sure, you can create a humorous commercial, and your video will probably go viral, which will achieve a campaign goal.  However, how did the exposure build the brand.  What was the lasting effect?  Did viewers refer to your ad by brand name or as the “funny baby commercial”, “the cute horse commercial”, or “the commercial about the girl exposing herself”?  Um, maybe the last one was the half-time show.

Identify Trends for Success
Macro-trends are more impactful, and also more difficult to identify and integrate into a campaign — let alone a 30-second ad.  Last year one could argue, Denny’s tapped into the economic downturn with their free breakfast promotion.  The commercial was impactful with one viewing.  On a viral scale, the commercial has barely one-half million views on YouTube, but the campaign was far reaching past the original airing.  It was picked up by news agencies, live remotes from Denny’s on the promotion day, and plenty of social discussion.

Why not a Super Bowl Effort every time?
One final thought Super Bowl campaigns is about the emphasis the client, agency and industry place on the event — why not fuss over every campaign like it is the Super Bowl?  I have worked for many advertisers with mega-million dollar budgets, and they tend to treat the Super Bowl like it is the epitome of advertising.  The ads needed to be award winning, because everyone was watching (many times this meant their peers, not the American Public).   The ideas needed to be special, provocative, and yes, award winning.  And most times the effort, thought, and creativity in creating the commercials result in the best commercials created during the year.  Which brings us to the other 364 days in the year.

The formula in creating a Super Bowl Campaign should be adopted for every campaign.  Treat the campaign like you have one shot to instill your brand – your offering into your target.  Understand that no matter how well you can target media, your brand does not appeal to the majority of the audience.  So, balance the commercial between brand and audience.  Finally, make the commercial the front door to the campaign — to something bigger.  A campaign people will talk about.  A campaign people may be able to take part in (and I am not talking about User-Generated Content).   Strive to make every campaign a Super Bowl Campaign.

On the surface it sounds great: great sales, less advertising. The economic-sensitive advertising premise for Miller is also intriguing –

“Miller announced plans to air the ads — and placed a bunch of them online — on Jan. 20.  The spots’ inherent critique of spending so lavishly on advertising in a recession — “Paying $3 million for a 30-second commercial makes as much sense as putting sauerkraut on a donut,” a promotional website said — drew national notice, including coverage in USA Today and other major media outlets.”

You can just hear the marketing/advertising banter around the nation: “We don’t need to spend $3 million. We just need a breakthrough one-second idea. So, let’s go around the table …” Don’t Blink. It reminds me of the DVR-killer commercial for KFC Snackers.

Hmm, could Miller’s one-second commercial be generated from the KFC idea? Although a one-second commercial may be the perfect ad unit for the A.D.D. generation, it probably is also a one-hit wonder, having very little to do with sales. The Ad Age article states Miller sales were up 5% a week prior to the Super Bowl.

If we take a step back from the one-second buzz, we may realize Miller may be just benefiting from the current economic conditions (experience the “High Life” in the down turn). On a side note, at the time I wrote this blog the Miller sites were down (MillerBrewing.com, MillerLite.com, MillerBeer.com). The Miller Site served a “HTTP Status 404 – /av.action” error. Nice! Wait a second, maybe the site was a one-second subliminal experience and I missed it. Makes as much sense as sauerkraut on a donut…and don’t forget the beer.