The turn of the millennium in 2000 produced hysteria, excitement, and speculation of things to come for the 21^st century.  Oddly enough, global economics were at an all time high, despite a frazzled public.  This economic surge fostered significant improvements in technology and allowed entrepreneurs to flourish in numerous markets.  The combination of these two elements produced what is referred to as the “.com” era.  The result was an eruption of web-based companies backed by a strong economy.  Of course, promotion by these web pioneers was best marketed through television advertising.  A showcase of this phenomenon materialized throughout the commercials aired during Super Bowl XXXIV.  In fact, 17 of the advertisers during 2000′s big game were .com companies pitching (or not necessarily pitching) their products, services, and of course, web domains (superbowl-ads.com).  The online investment firm, E-trade, was a significant player in the mix and .com ad veterans in their second year of Bowl spots.  They actually purchased four spots of the golden advertisement space.  One of E-trade’s commercials, in particular, managed to capture the underlying persona of the “.com” advertising scheme (it later turns out to also be very ironic).  Check it out and tell me what you think. 

Now, to most viewers, this commercial is pretty amusing and fairly comical.  But remember, E-trade did not spend millions of dollars to simply entertain you during your Super Bowl party; there is always a product at work.  E-trade offers stock trades and investments through an online management system.  All of their services are easy to access and navigate and offered at prices well below what someone would pay a personal stock broker or investment agent.  So, while the whole room cracks up at the antics in the ad, others may raise an eyebrow at its implications.  The viewers most likely interested in the product offering are going to be people with a level of expendable incomes, and the economic conditions elevated people in this category.  A service such as E-trade may have also been appealing to the economically driven venture capitalists.  Investing became a hot commodity during the turn of the century, and those devoid of financial security would eventually find the world, literally, crashing down around them.  Ironically enough, E-trade’s “Out the Whazoo” commercial sends a firm warning on where you may wind up without smart investments.

Budweiser’s Not-so funny Commercial- 2002

After the horrific events of 9/11/2001, the Anhesier-Busch marketers took a different approach to celebrate nationalism in the face of tragedy. Unlike the Budwiser commercials we’re used to, this one is a tribute to the entire city of New York, the victims and their families, the fire fighters, and the American people. The symbolism  is everywhere- in the Statue of Liberty, the horses, and the New York setting. Budweiser did not have to try very hard to reach their target audience with this ad. The ad sells itself.  People loved them for airing such a memorable and touching commercial. The argument speaks for itself. Budweiser supports the people of New York, the victims, families, and government officials who were affected by the events of 9/11. No wonder Budweiser continues to be so popular even today.

REEBOK 2003′s Terrible Terry Tate

 

 

Consumers and marketers liked the office linebacker idea, and Reebok aired an entire Terry Tate series of commercials. At first glance, an audience might not notice that the women in the commercial are tackled just like the men. If you watch it again and look more closely, Terrible Terry treats men and women the same–he manhandles them equally.  However, in one scene his voice appears softer when Lisa walks by, and his words are not violent. We attribute this to the need for men to treat women with respect, but the commercial actually disrespects them just the same.

 

On the surface the commercial argues women, who typically only watch the commercials during the Super bowl–and who usually control the family spending, are treated with more respect in the office by their male counterparts. If they buy Reebok, they are investing in a company that values equality, hard work and no breaks. However, Reebok did not emphasize the women getting tackled, but they did make the conscious choice to put women in the ad just in case some women were looking for their representation.

 

 

Since the movie Office Space aired in February 1999, white-collar cube dwellers find humor in different personalities of their co-workers. Everyone knows that in an office there are always people who find time to waste.  Terry Tate keeps them in check, but who keeps you in check? Reebok’s answer is them. The Terry Tate commercial appeals to men and women who confront these issues daily because of the pressure they feel to get things done correctly, whether or not to a social life at work, or getting enough done during the day—or even getting up for coffee! Another implication from this ad is if you buy Reebok, you will be disciplined and manage your time wisely. The target audience is men and women, but the commercial also argues that if men buy Reebok and act like Terry Tate, they will attract more females. Men enjoy action and adventure. Terry Tate’s office linebacker gives them just that because he tackles people and gets female attention at the same time.

 Bud vs. Bud (2008)

Throughout the years of the Super bowl, there has been a significant shift in the way products and services are advertised. There has been a move from simple jingle feel-good commercials of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s to high-powered humorous entertaining commercials of the 90’s and 2000’s. The idea behind this is that if a consumer laughs and is entertained by an advertiser’s ad, the consumer will remember that brand and product later. Brand recognition is important to any producer because it is how one product is chosen over another.

To illustrate this shift, I have chosen two beer commercials; both by the same company and both having the same target audience which is men of drinking age.

The following Budweiser commercial appeared during the 1975 Super Bowl. The ad seeks to elicit a sense pride in the Budweiser consumer because the “good folks” behind this product take very special care in creating their beloved beer. The commercial has a friendly narrator, relaxing music, and a catchy jingle at the end. Throughout this entire commercial Budweiser’s label is only shown once and the word “Budweiser” is only said twice; once by the narrator and again during the jingle.

Now lets fast forward…

This commercial aired during the 2008 Super Bowl. The company is the same but the product differs slightly. This commercial is selling the Bud Light beer while the older ad showcased the Budweiser beer. This ad is almost a parody of the older one without the catchy jingle. Like the first, the narrator is friendly and speaks to relaxing music; however, while trying to elicit a sense of confidence in the product, the narrator promises something that the beer clearly cannot deliver on which is the ability to breathe fire. This is, of course, a joke and the ad goes on to show what would happen if a man had this ability. Interestingly, the Bud Light label is shown three times and is verbalized once within first nine seconds of the commercial. By the end of the 30 second ad the label is shown three times and the words “Bud Light” are spoken four times.

 

 

Why this shift? Some argue that the target audience of the Super Bowl commercials has also changed to include women and men who are not football fans. There is some evidence to support this, seeing that almost half of the people who tune-in to the game are more interested in the commercials than the actual championship game itself. But that begs the question, which happened first? The shift is style and approach or the shift in audience. Others might say it is because we live in an “ADHD Nation” where we must be constantly entertained and goaded into consumerism. Whatever the cause, one thing is clear; a cultural transformation has taken place. But where that leads us remains to be seen.