As the most watched event on TV in the US, the Super Bowl (more specifically, the show’s year alone, an estimated 100 million people watched the game.
(For context – there are a total of 67.2 million people living in the UK.)
Not only that, but Super Bowl ads are also thought to drive up to 4x more engagement than most other adverts.
With the potential for extreme success being so great, the pressure was on this year for advertisers to create the most memorable ads. So, who did it best?
This week, we’re covering what 3 of the most innovative brands did right at this year’s Super Bowl.
Let’s get started!
In Squarespace’s Super Bowl spot, Sally sells seashells on the seashore, but needs a simple, effective website to help her sell more.
Try saying that five times faster.
While very simple in concept, Squarespace’s 2022 Super Bowl ad does everything right.
From building on nostalgic memories of the popular ‘Sally’ nursery rhyme, to including stars Zendaya and Andre 3000, to glamorously showing how their product and services can help business owners thrive, Squarespace make every second of their 30-second ad count.
Who better to give the deciding vote on electric cars than the God of the Sky (and lightning) himself?
This year’s BMW ad is a little different from most in that it tells a story. Zeus (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Hera, Goddess of Marriage (played by Salma Hayek) decide to retire to Palm Springs, California, where Hera buys her husband an electric BMW.
What makes this ad so great is that it takes two of Hollywood’s most recognisable faces, two of Greek mythology’s most recognisable Gods, and BMW’s relatively new electric car, to create something truly memorable.
Despite being 60 seconds long, this ad feels like a movie, ending with the “BMW – the ultimate electric driving machine”. Well, if its good enough for Zeus.
1. Coinbase
Of course, the brand taking our number 1 spot must be Coinbase.
Their extremely simple ad is all over social media right now, which is significant as it doesn’t rely on celebrities. Instead, the ad blends two things perfectly – nostalgia and simplicity.
While unrecognisable in terms of Super Bowl’s typical ad format, Coinbase’s ad will be recognisable to most adults as it takes its design from the classic DVD player screensaver.
Its simple design, a QR code bouncing around the screen, left viewers wanting to know more. Before the ad, which ran for 60 seconds, had finished, engagement levels were already off the charts.
The result? The Coinbase website crashed, but not before many thousands of people claimed their crypto credit (which the QR code offered) and Coinbase beat out its crypto competitors to create the most successful ad of the evening.
In conclusion… What makes a good Super Bowl ad?
The best Super Bowl ads use nostalgia, celebrity, creativity and simplicity to captivate audiences. In other words, they perfectly merge the familiar with the unfamiliar to create something memorable.
While the night was filled with exciting, strange, weird and wonderful ads, Coinbase’s commitment to simplicity, nostalgia, and fostering intrigue meant that its ad wasn’t only the most successful of the evening by far, it was also an ad that will likely stick in our collective memory for a long time.
