Imagine this: you’re in the midst of a Super Bowl party, a beer or two deep with pizza crumbs piling on your shirt when you hear the inevitable, “Everybody quiet down… it’s the commercials!”

A hush falls over the room, and everyone leans forward, ready to begin our favorite pastime, d̶i̶s̶s̶e̶c̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ judging the hell out of these ads. They begin to play. You laugh. You judge. And you debate about who had the best ad. But after the game, most of us don’t do this one thing… buy. Here’s some head-scratching stats.

Did you know that:

• 80 percent of Super Bowl ads fail to budge consumer opinions about a brand.
• Only 10 percent of folks remember the average Super Bowl ad and can recall the brand.
• Just 33 percent of people even remember seeing the darn commercial in the first place.

Shocking, right? And it begs the question: why do Super Bowl commercials often fail when there is so much vested interest? Well, let’s find out.

Define the Terms

Now, fail, unexamined, is a strong word. Hell, I don’t like getting F’s any more than you do. And I don’t want to throw around “fail” like it’s confetti at a carnival. So, what do I define as fail?

I’m defining fail as someone not making a purchase because of an ad. And in the stakes of the Super Bowl, with a 30-second spot costing 7 million dollars (not counting production costs), that’s a Hell of a lot of money for a half-minute Hail Mary. So let’s find out why most Super Bowl ads fail.

1.) Wrong goals:

I believe many CMO’s have the wrong goal with their Super Bowl ads. Most marketing firms focus on being entertaining instead of what marketing is paid to do: promote a product or service so someone will buy it.

And it makes sense, as an audience, we’re told that the commercials are entertaining, and we expect them to be. The problem is, this strategy often glazes over clear communication of brand value. While humor and celebrities can grab attention, if viewers can’t connect the dots to why they should care, the impact fizzles faster than a 2-liter bottle of soda.

Remember the Pepsi ad with Cindy Crawford crawling for a can? Yeah, me neither.

2.) Gimmicks:

Many companies rely on gimmicks during the Super Bowl because they want attention. The problem, though, is gimmicks rarely add value. Sure, a puppy playing football is adorable, but does it sell web hosting? (GoDaddy’s 2009 ad, anyone?).

Gimmicky moments might generate buzz and be the water cooler talk for a day, but without a deeper connection to your brand and its offerings, they’re forgotten faster than last year’s halftime show.

Many ads are one-offs, not part of a sustained marketing campaign, making their impact fade faster than my father’s hairline.

3.) Measuring the wrong things:

We all love attention. That’s human nature at work. The problem, though, is many companies focus on social media buzz and online engagement instead of the most important metric: making sales.

Social media buzz and online shares are alluring, but they paint an incomplete picture. The real measure of success is driving sales and brand loyalty. That’s what the business cares about. 

 Take Snickers’ Marilyn ad: viral, yes, but did it translate to more candy bars sold? Not so much. Same with Kia’s dancing hamsters. Cute, but it didn’t really tell us why we need to buy a Kia, and the lack of sales support that notion.

 Chasing online fame can distract from the true objective: conversions.

Full Circle

Super Bowl ads can be cultural phenomena, sparking conversation and generating awareness. But awareness alone doesn’t pay the bills.

To quote advertising legend David Ogilvy, “I don’t believe in tricky advertising, I don’t believe in cute advertising, I don’t believe in comic advertising. The people who perpetrate that kind of advertising never had to sell anything in their lives.”

 For true success, brands need to go beyond the “wow” factor and focus on clear messaging, long-term engagement, and ultimately, driving sales.

So, the next time you’re cheering (or jeering) at a Super Bowl ad, remember entertainment is fun, but effective marketing is about building a brand that resonates, not just a moment that fades.

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