Big-Game Ads’ New Playbook

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L.A. ad agencies put singing sheep, Viking warriors and sock puppets on TV for this year’s Super Bowl. Now they must also get their efforts noticed online.

Squeezing maximum exposure out of the nation’s biggest ad platform is essential, local agencies say, especially with host channel CBS charging up to $5 million for 30 seconds of air time on a show targeting more than 100 million viewers.

“What you’re really trying to do is fan the flames before, during and after,” said Mike Sheldon, chief executive of Deutsch, whose L.A. branch created a Taco Bell campaign that promised to reveal a new food item the day of the game.

Deutsch generated buzz in 2011 by being the first agency to unveil a commercial early amid an industry that had typically valued secrecy. Its Volkswagen spot featuring a boy dressed as Darth Vader hit 20 million YouTube views before airing during the game.

“Since then, everyone has started to release things early,” said Sheldon. “It’s become a much bigger 360-degree marketing effort.”

Taco Bell Corp. has even managed to drive sales in the pre-Super Bowl buzz by encouraging customers to preorder its secret new item. The fast-food chain was due to post online a two-minute version of its TV ad a half-hour before the game, a time when viewers avidly watch commercials on social media, Sheldon said. During the game, several local TV channels planned to air ads tailored to local markets.

But after advertisers have harnessed excitement on game day, the next challenge is to maintain momentum.

“It’s less about just doing a one-off than having a really awesome, authentic conversation with consumers over a longer period of time,” said David Angelo, chairman of David&Goliath.

The El Segundo firm was in the big game for a seventh time on Sunday representing Kia Motors Corp. Its latest campaign, featuring actor Christopher Walken and a colorful sock puppet, launched in late January with teaser ads.

Angelo said there’s more to come in the weeks after the Super Bowl, and he aims to keep consumers engaged and entertained along the way.

Omelet in Culver City, representing Pokémon, is counting on the brand’s fans to boost attention. Account director Kate Wolff said a version of the commercial released a couple of weeks before the game got Pokémon enthusiasts challenging each other on social media to identify the ad’s insider references to characters and storylines.

“We knew we were playing into the hands of people who really love it,” said Wolff, adding that the YouTube video had already racked up 12 million views as of 72 hours before the game.

The commercial, which snagged free air time on the CBS special “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” last week, marks the launch of Pokémon’s 20th anniversary campaign that will last throughout the year.

It also marks Omelet’s first Super Bowl, which Wolff called a huge milestone for the midsize agency.

The L.A. office of Boulder, Colo.-based CP+B also made its Super Bowl debut this year in an ad for PayPal. Demi Lovato’s song “Confident” is the soundtrack to a montage of scenes touting PayPal’s new slogan, “New Money.” To keep up attention throughout the Super Bowl, even after the ad aired, PayPal chose to conduct a trivia game on Twitter hosted by Fox Sports broadcaster Erin Andrews. Each quarter, participants were given the chance to win $500.

Super Bowl veteran RPA knows well that exposure strategies must align with a brand’s specific needs, said Chief Creative Officer Joe Baratelli. The Santa Monica firm got tapped by three companies this year to develop Super Bowl commercials. Its Honda ad stars a flock of sheep that sing Queen’s “Somebody to Love” in harmony, and was released early as part of a long-term campaign for the 2017 Ridgeline truck.

But its commercial for Apartments.com that pairs rapper Lil Wayne, real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., with an actor portraying George Washington was leaked slowly, relying on the rapper’s 25.6 million Twitter followers to draw attention.

“It created a little bit of mystery,” said Baratelli.

Software company Intuit demanded its own strategy, requiring RPA to promote the winner of its small-business competition, which turned out to be coffee company Death Wish. The upstart brand is now getting launched into the big time, represented in the commercial by a Viking ship plowing through rough waters.

Ad agencies Saatchi and Saatchi, Mullen Lowe and Ridley Scott’s RSA Films also created Super Bowl commercials out of Los Angeles this year.

About 114 million people watched last year’s Super Bowl, according to Nielsen ratings, making it the most watched event in American TV history.

It was also the most expensive, with companies paying $4.4 million for a 30-second spot, according to media data research firm Kantar Media.

Les Moonves, the new chairman of CBS Corp., said in an earnings report call that the rate could jump this year to $5 million. But advertisers say the expense is worth it.

“Viewers are watching and expecting to be entertained by the commercials,” said Deutsch’s Sheldon. “The other 364 days of the year, you’re basically an annoyance.”

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