The Superbowl is for Advertisements, Right?

I know I'm a few days late, but I wanted to talk about this past Sunday's Superbowl. Because I'm not an avid sports fan and the Patriots didn't make it to the game, watching the Superbowl this year was not thrilling for me. Channeling my inner marketing geek, I always enjoy watching the commercials. I would focus more on the TV when the game was off rather than when it was on (and halftime of course- can't get enough of Beyonce).

There were some pretty good commercials this year, and a few in particular caught my eye. The Doritos Commercial with the puppies going into the grocery store was hilarious, and it used one of the "stereotypical" advertising ideas that we've talked about in class. It seems like brands can always get consumers to interact with their ad if it has a dog or a baby in it. Even though this idea is definitely overdone, it works. At the Superbowl party I was at, everyone was engaged in that commercial and laughing because of the dogs!

This wasn't the only commercial with dogs in it that caught my eye, the Heinz Ketchup commercial was definitely my favorite. The commercial also used cute puppies to get viewers attention, and then had both humor and emotional appeals to it. Using Mini Dachshund puppies, also known as "weiner dogs" to advertise for Ketchup and Mustard is genius to me. I don't know if this is something that has already been done before, but it was new to me. I was laughing at the commercial, and the humor appeal definitely worked. Ketchup and Mustard products are extremely utilitarian in my opinion, and I think that Heinz has to think outside of the box while creating promotional materials. This is an example of a well-established brand having to still engage with consumers, despite their large and loyal following. As we've discussed in class, managing both passive and active loyalists is a key part of a brand's success in marketing. Passive loyalists are useful to a brand because they continuously buy products, but they aren't advocating. Active loyalists not only buy from a brand, they tell other people to do so and are passionate about the brand. By creating this kind of commercial, a passive loyalist of Heinz products, like myself, will start talking about the brand. "Hey, did you see that Heinz commercial with the weiner dogs"? I specifically asked my best friend that, because she has a dog like that and loves them. Next time either of us are in the store shopping for ketchup, Heinz will have top of mind awareness because we will be thinking of their funny Superbowl commercial.

In addition, I referred to the commercial as emotional because although it was humor based, there was some sentiment to it if you are a passionate Mini Dachshund owner. My friend also told me that this commercial made her cry, because it reminded her of her puppy that passed away a few years ago. Although she got sad, she became emotional because of a Heinz commercial- which shows that even very utilitarian products can make you feel something.

I also found it smart that the commercial featured different products within the Heinz brand. I noticed they were promoting regular ketchup, organic ketchup, siracha, and mustard. This was a good way to show that the brand offers a variety of products within the condiment industry. Incorporating the hashtag #MeetTheKetchups was clever and funny. They are creating another touchpoint to social media by using this hashtag. Overall, the Heinz commercial definitely did it for me this year. I know that marketing is the major for me because I care more about Superbowl commercials than I do about the Superbowl itself!