IC News

If you’re tired of seeing the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl and you’re not sure how you’re going to pass the time this Sunday, the good news is that the Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest NFL game of the year. It’s also the biggest day of the year for advertisers.

According to Mark Addona, assistant professor of strategic communication at IC’s Roy H. Park School of Communications, companies are spending $8 million dollars to air 30-second ads during this year’s game. With such a hefty price tag attached, most companies release their commercials ahead of time on their own social media channels and elsewhere.

One of the trends Addona has seen while studying this year’s ads is brands drawing on nostalgia to connect with audiences.

“When advertisers show a familiar face in a commercial, they immediately create a connection between a brand and the viewer,” he says. “A lot of companies are using familiar faces to draw in their audience.”

One of the biggest examples of this is Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal re-creating their famous diner scene from the movie When Harry Met Sally , only this time with Hellmann's mayonnaise sharing the screen with the Hollywood icons.

While Ryan’s enthusiasm is instantly familiar to anyone who went to the movies in 1989, other iconic characters don’t even need to speak to be recognized. Case in point: the Budweiser Clydesdales, who have been Super Bowl staples for decades.

“Every brand has their personality, and the horses embody Budweiser’s,” Addona says. “Their ads pull on a viewer’s heartstrings, which subsequently creates a positive association with the brand itself.”

While some companies are using familiarity in their commercials, others are, in Addona’s words, “pushing the envelope” by taking their commercials in an unexpected direction.

“Häagen-Dazs has put out 15-second teasers of their ad in multiple parts,” he says. “It features some kind of a heist, which isn’t what you’d expect from an ice cream company.”

“I also can’t wait to see what Taco Bell is going to do with their ‘photobomb ads,’” Addona continues. “It’s got a recognizable celebrity [musical artist Doja Cat], but it looks like they’ll also have ‘regular’ people in it. It’s a nice mix.”

Companies that choose to tease their ads, rather than release the full commercials, are still capitalizing on the early buzz, but they’re also “leading the viewer into something bigger,” giving themselves a chance to draw in an audience that might not otherwise watch the game.

All of this, Addona says, is driven by companies wanting to get more bang for their buck.

“For some of these companies, the Super Bowl is their entire budget,” he says. “They’re trying to spend their money as wisely as possible.”

Now that you know what to look for when the game takes a break, it's time to, in the words of NFL legend Terrell Owens, "get your popcorn ready!"

After the big game, students from the Ithaca College chapter of the American Advertising Federation will meet with IC alumni to analyze and break down the best ads from the big day. Look for that story on the IC News site and social media channels.

And, IC is at the Super Bowl – now! Six students from the School of Business and the Roy H. Park School of Communications, are in New Orleans networking, meeting players and broadcasting live from the Radio Row, the epicenter of Superbowl media coverage. Get a behind the scenes look at the entire industry on our Instagram page.