In the weeks preceding the most recent SuperBowl game, LoopMe ran a consumer survey to learn more about U.S. viewers’ plans and preferences related to the event. Specifically, the survey asked respondents about where and how they will be watching the big game, why they will be tuning in, and what type of commercials they like to see during the event. LoopMe also asked respondents if a SuperBowl ad has ever motivated them to research the brand or buy the advertised product.
LoopMe surveyed 4,600 U.S. consumers with 26% of the group reporting that they were planning to watch the SuperBowl game, which is in line with estimates of about 100M U.S. viewers typically tuning in for the game.
Of those 1,200+ who planned to watch, 82% said they wanted to see funny ads; also noteworthy is that 16% of the overall group said that they will be watching the game solely for the commercials.
When Sunday, February 12th, 2023 rolled around, brands delivered quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, and some impressive complementary advertising strategies:
Trickery for laughs — I definitely thought I sat on the remote when the Tubi commercial came on! Kudos to the team for actually creating a moment of panic, followed by — no, it’s an ad! It was very memorable.
Kid-tested, parent-approved — Some of the commercials I heard my son repeating, which was a real performance test of the intended humor. One example where he repeated lines and thought they were funny was the E-trade baby commercial and another one was the Will Ferrell GM ad. This caught me off guard but also reminded me why we’re all in advertising – to create brand loyalists inside a household.
Channeling satire – A couple of commercials were funny, taking satire to the next level. The Temu e-com site was eye-catching enough to be like, “What is this? What are we watching?” It felt over-the-top in a funny way. Another flavor was the electric vehicles commercial from RAM EV, which was almost like a satirical pharma ad, but for EV.
Comedic celebrity placements – I loved how Adam Driver was talking about a website to create websites – a very interesting way to grab attention. But the Ben Affleck Dunkin’ Donuts ad was possibly the best executed ad of the game. Not only did the brand have a funny and timely celebrity placement, it was also really believable. The follow-up marketing efforts with email marketing (I received a coupon for the $1 donut as soon as the game ended with a link to the commercial) really closed the loop on how brand advertising and performance are intertwined.
In our survey, 32% of US consumers who were planning to watch the game reported looking into a company or purchasing a product after seeing a SuperBowl ad. The Dunkin’ Donuts ad is a perfect example of a brand taking full advantage of this opportunity – creating more of an intentional buy and more tangible ROI.
Looking beyond humor in terms of advertising effectiveness, one element stands out: interactivity. The ad performance follow-on aspect of the Dunkin’ Donuts ad mentioned above was a notable example, but I also noticed more QR codes during the big game than ever before. The presence of interactive and performance-based brand campaign elements indicated a shift towards making these SuperBowl investments more actionable.