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In the world of Super Bowl advertising, storytelling reigns supreme. While celebrities often steal the spotlight, it’s the ads that craft compelling narratives around the brand that leave a lasting impression on viewers.
Narratives have the power to resonate with universal human truths and emotions, unlike celebrities who, as personalities, might not always garner universal appeal or evoke a wide array of positive emotional connections.
The Strength of Storytelling
A sizable portion of viewers tune into the Super Bowl for the ads as much as, or even more than, the on-field action. The audience is broad and expecting to be entertained. While challenging, developing a story that centers the brand and delights the audience can be far less costly than hiring one or more celebrities which typically adds $1 million or more to the now $7 million+ price tag for a 30-second spot.
Since 2014, the top Super Bowl ad connecting through the Narrative* (scoring a perfect 10 on the emo) was Budweiser’s ‘Puppy Love,” airing in 2014. Viewer hearts melted as the 60-second story arc followed an adorable golden retriever pup befriending a Clydesdale only to be separated due to his adoption. With the animals ultimately conspiring to orchestrate a reunion, this anthropomorphic tale elicited a range of powerful emotions and left an indelible and memorable impression, based on its ingenuity.
Layers in Storytelling
An emotional heat map of the top five story-led Super Bowl ads shows there is more than one path to success – and more than one source of connection. Some brands wove in music (Audio*) to enhance the saga, while animals added in the Cute* factor and dogs ensured Adtastic* and Love It* response. In fact, Budweiser snared two of the top five storytelling spots with their retriever/Clydesdale chronicles, while Chevy made cows endearing and WeatherTech appealed for donations via a furry, four-legged cancer survivor.
Ingenious* approaches with humor and those displaying Corporate Responsibility* worked equally well. Regardless of the story’s motive, all were Heartfelt* and Inspiring* to some level and the approach served as a vehicle for brand connection across a range of powerful emotions – making for a deeper, longer-lasting impression.
Top 5 Story-Led Super Bowl Ads
2014 Super Bowl: Budweiser “Puppy Love”
2014 Super Bowl: Chevy Silverado “Romance”
2015 Super Bowl: Budweiser “Lost Dog”
2019 Super Bowl: Verizon “First Responders: Coach”
2020 Super Bowl: WeatherTech “Lucky Dog”
Impact of Narrative on Brand Recognition
Narratives demonstrate strength in cementing unaided Brand Recognition**. While no real difference was seen among recall for Super Bowl ads featuring celebrities vs. ads without, a clear advantage was held by narrative-led Big Game spots, with eight in ten viewers recalling the advertised brand. This advantage underscores the effectiveness of storytelling in creating memorable advertising experiences that resonate with audiences long after the event.
The Super Bowl viewers anticipate and appreciate creativity. As history shows, there is nothing like a great story to capture advertising’s largest audience, and the impact is often stronger than the hook of celebrity – a fact that Big Game advertisers would do well to remember. Even if story development is the more formidable game plan, the data proves it tends to deliver far bigger wins, if played well.
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*Indicates one of the 57 emotions iSpot Creative Assessment measures for every video ad.
**Brand Recognition – Measures the strength of a brand’s and/or product’s presence in the creative. Equals the percent of survey respondents that accurately identified a brand (unaided) after watching an ad.