In a few words, can you tell us who you are and what your job title is?
I’m Craig Miller, Virgo. And VP/Group Creative Director at BBDO Atlanta.
The current price for a 30 second slot is over $5 million. In your opinion is the spend worth it?
That depends entirely on the quality of the spot you run. If you run something great, $5 million to get that many eyes on it is a bargain, especially considering all the earned media that comes with great Super Bowl spots. We all know the legend of how many times news stations ran Apple’s “1984” for free.
On the other hand, if you run something mediocre or bad, you’ve just wasted $5 million. And in fact, given the high expectations of Super Bowl ads from the public, you may have actually damaged your brand by letting your audience down.
On the other hand, if you run something mediocre or bad, you’ve just wasted $5 million. And in fact, given the high expectations of Super Bowl ads from the public, you may have actually damaged your brand by letting your audience down.
Is there a demographic you believe Super Bowl advertisers have failed to target or a business sector that is underrepresented?
Well, it certainly has seemed very male-centric in past years. Which is probably due to the fact that it’s football, after all. But if I’m not mistaken, the NFL is almost as popular with women these days as it is with men. And I’d guess the demographics for the Super Bowl are a lot more evenly spread across gender than a typical NFL game. So it’s a missed opportunity if we’re not speaking to both sexes.
Who do you think is the ‘brand to watch’ at this year’s Super Bowl?
I think FedEx has been exceptionally good virtually every year, so I’m disappointed they’re not advertising this year. But I’m always curious to see the brands who spend their entire media budget for the year on one Super Bowl spot. Not sure if anyone is doing that this year, but it’s always interesting.
Do you think advertisers can benefit from taking a political/social stance in the Super Bowl?
Honestly, I think people are sick of that stuff coming from advertisers right now. It’s been a pretty awful past 12 months since the last Super Bowl, and I know I personally could use a break from thinking about it all. And I especially don’t want to see “sadvertising” during something like the Super Bowl that’s supposed to be fun. Everyone’s going to be drinking beer and eating guacamole, not thinking about social issues or politics. All of that stuff matters for sure, but I’ve got 364 other days to worry about it all.
Are there any fumbled opportunities that come to mind when you think of past Super Bowl advertising?
Nearly every use of a celebrity. I can’t think of a celebrity driven Super Bowl ad that I particularly liked. Except the one with Ozzy. Ozzy rules.
Eagles or Patriots?
As a dyed-in the wool Atlanta Falcons fan since the days of Steve Bartkowski’s Hail Mary to Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, I can’t pull for either of them. Then again, Eagles.
What is your favorite Super Bowl ad of all time?
I’ve got to say “Wasted” from Etrade fits my personal sense of humor the best. I literally fell out of my chair when I saw that for the first time. And yes, I’m using the word “literally” correctly. I fell out of my chair.