Metrics illustrate how consumers truly felt about the ad breaks
Emmy Liederman | February 14, 2022 | Adweek
36 million U.S. households, or more than 1 in 4 U.S. homes, tuned into the Super Bowl this year, which is a 12% increase from last year’s game. And among those viewers who paid more attention to the commercial breaks than the game itself, there were a few apparent marketing themes at play. To name a few, electronic vehicle brands made a grand entrance, celebrity sightings were a dime a dozen and just as consumers were treated to a dot-com boom in 2000,cryptocurrency commercials made their debut. But without the data this is all pure conjecture, so here are the top 10 metrics that illustrate this year’s biggest day in advertising.
Diversity propels purchasing intent
A study from X_Stereotype, an AI-powered platform that analyzes content through a DEI lens, used categories like bias, stereotypes and inclusion to illustrate the impact of diversity on consumer sentiment. The platform found that Google’s Real Tones ad, which scored in the 80th percentile on its diversity meter, had the most significant impact on purchasing intent. The ad that ranked lowest on inclusion, T-Mobile’s 5G spot featuring Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus, also ranked lowest in purchasing intent.
Frito-Lay was well-received
According to marketing platform System1, Frito-Lay, which gave Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Doritos its own Super Bowl spot this year, produced the public’s favorite ad that aired during the game. The company reported that the ad, which features Megan Thee Stallion and Charlie Puth as theatrical woodland creatures, scored 4.9 stars from consumers on a 1 to 5.9 scale.
Advertisers invest in influencers
Influencer marketing platform Captiv8 saw Super Bowl influencer marketing spend increase by 5x from 2021 when analyzing the same advertisers. TikTok was a significant engagement driver—the hashtag #TikTokTailgate, which was presented by Intuit TurboTax, garnered 953 million views, and Lay’s Golden Duet challenge has racked up 868 million views. Lay’s tapped influencer accounts like @oldgays and @jazmynjw to duet Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan’s rendition of “You’re Still The One I Want,” which was featured in the brand’s spot.
Newbies make their mark
About 40% of the total advertisers in the game were new advertisers, according to NBC, and data company Edo, Inc., found that Swedish electric vehicle company Polestar was the shining star among those marketers. The brand was ranked at the top of Edo’s roster and, according to the company, performed 23x better for consumer brand searches than the average Super Bowl spot.
Electric auto ads, major traffic
Six of the seven auto brand ads that aired during the Super Bowl were for electric vehicles, and Cars.com saw a 80% increase in EV page views across its site. The number of auto commercials doubled from 2021, and the automotive website saw an 217% average lift to automaker’s brand pages.
Halftime show was a hit
This year’s halftime show shattered 2021 viewership numbers, according to software company Samba TV. The brand found that 29 million U.S. households tuned in to watch stars like Dr. Dre and 50 Cent perform, which is a 19% year-over-year increase from 2021.
Regional ads resonate
Samuel Adams’ regional ad spot “Boston Dynamics” made it to the top of System1’s emotional effectiveness list with 4.9 stars. The ranking system represents an ad’s potential to spark long-term growth for the brand. Also ranking high in the company’s list was Universal Pictures’ regional Jurassic Park trailer, which brought in a score of 4.5. System1 found that the Sam Adams spot had the highest short-term sales impact in the game.
Reddit talks Uber Eats, Avocados
If there’s one destination on the internet where consumers refuse to shy away from brutal honesty, it’s Reddit. Among food and beverage advertisers in the game, Avocados From Mexico and Uber Eats were the most mentioned. According to the platform, Avocados garnered a 130% increase in mentions and Uber Eats saw a 75% increase in mentions, but for bad reason—many users poking fun at the brand for choosing an outdated TikTok sound.
Crypto sparks social chatter
While Pepsi led the scoreboard as the sponsor of the halftime show, FTX and Coinbase were the second and third most talked about advertisers on Twitter, according to social analytics platform ListenFirst. 319,186 tweets mentioned FTX on Super Bowl Sunday, and 134,826 mentioned Coinbase, but the large majority of those tweets mentioned the site’s server crashing.
Online ad conversations dwindle
While ListenFirst found that 6.4 million tweets mentioned the Super Bowl this year, which is the highest number since 2018, users were less inclined to talk about the commercials. Tweets mentioning the words “Super Bowl Ad” declined by 37% from last year and 75% from Super Bowl Sunday in 2020.
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