Hardly A Super Bowl of Advertising

I don't know about you but I didn't feel like some of those big national advertisers got their moneys worth this year.  At $4 million for a :30 second spot, it seems as if some unsuspecting vice presidents got hosed.  

For example:  Did watching a bunch of geriatric escapees cause you to "run for the border" and grab some Taco Bell?  Didn't think so.

The impression left by Taco Bell was the decidedly negative feeling that if I ate there the food would render me instantly old--okay, oldER.  Why not promote the new and improved Taco Bell menu or their more often than not cheerful service and ultra clean bathrooms?

Then, there was Go Daddy.  Not only did the uber nerd sucking face with the super model give me the dry heaves, it DID NOT send me to their website to snag a brand new URL?   I don't think I'm alone here. 

What the hell were these companies trying to accomplish??!!

The guess here is that the majority of advertisers and their agencies have become so intent on impressing their peers with how hip and funny they are that they have forgotten the sole purpose of advertising: MOVE THE GOODS!  Since the first caveman chiseled the point of a spear, humans have tried to convince others that they really needed, and would be willing to part with money for,  a superior product.  Sometimes this can be accomplished with humor and other times an honest presentation of specific advantages will result in the sale of goods, but ultimately the message should be designed to SELL.  

Watching the majority of this year's Super Bowl spots left me not only NOT wanting to buy what they were selling but half the time I couldn't tell WHAT they were attempting to sell me.  They were clever but ineffective.  Some companies would have done themselves a large favor had they merely taken their four or eight million dollars and set fire to it.  I'm fairly certain that the crowd attracted by the sight of that kind of scratch going up in smoke would have made a better and more receptive audience.   Madison Avenue trying to dazzle Madison Avenue via style and wit left the majority of consumers out of the equation.

Naturally, there were some exceptions to this bumper crop of stupid commercials.  By general consensus, Budweiser's "Brotherhood" ad was effective in grabbing the attention of millennials.  However, at least for the more mature demographic, hands down the best of the bunch was the "So God Made a Farmer" ad for Dodge Ram trucks.  The Richards Group of Dallas took audio from a 1978 speech Paul Harvey gave to the Future Farmers of America and coupled it with pictures featuring farmers on tractors, kneeling in prayer, barns, silos, cows and a window draped with an American flag. It was brilliant!  The late Mr. Harvey was a genius at painting word pictures and his signature dramatic pauses coupled with pictures created a riveting and moving experience that made us watch and listen.  I don't know about you, but when the two minute piece was finished I wanted nothing more than to move to the country…right after buying my new Dodge Ram truck.  It was so good I'll bet you actually forgot that Chrysler, Dodge's parent, is an Italian company these days.  

If you didn't see it, here is the Paul Harvey Dodge Ram spot:

And now you know…THE REST OF THE STORY