There are a surprising number of people who believe that I don’t like puppies.
Every year the day after the Super Bowl when the votes are tallied rating all the ads, the ads with puppies always mainstream favorites. Meanwhile, for the past four years I have published my own list of winners and losers based on marketing strategy versus entertainment value and one thing has become sadly clear:
Puppies in ads are rarely the sign of a great marketing strategy.
This year’s game was no different, with big themes emerging in ads about the role of social media in our lives and what really makes you a real man. Based on the ads, real men either care about others or arm wrestle heroically for the last Skittle candy in the bowl.
There were celebrity appearances (Mindy Kaling, Pierce Brosnan, and others), plenty of animals (animated and real) and an interesting lack of scantily clad women (aside from two notable exceptions – Victoria’s Secret and Carl’s Jr). All of this leads me to share my annual list of best and worst marketing strategy from the big game…
