{"id":7817,"date":"2017-02-13T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=7817"},"modified":"2018-08-09T16:07:45","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T20:07:45","slug":"this-is-what-makes-the-super-bowl-so-super","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2017\/02\/13\/this-is-what-makes-the-super-bowl-so-super\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is What Makes the Super Bowl So Super"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Super Bowl LI was quite the game. From that stunning comeback to Lady Gaga\u2019s performance, it certainly had millions of people talking, tweeting and engaging on social media. But millions of people weren\u2019t just talking about the game \u2014 some of the public relations campaigns and ads sparked conversations as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the biggest brand impacts happened long before kickoff. Heinz launched a campaign to make the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday. The <\/span>#Smunday<\/span><\/a> online campaign generated thousands of impressions, which made up for the company\u2019s decision not to air an ad during the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Super Bowl is one of the few times during the year that all eyes around the nation are glued to their televisions, which leads companies to pay millions for a 30-second ad. So what works, and what makes an ad stand out?<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to create a memorable campaign in 2017, it\u2019s important to utilize social media and appeal to viewers\u2019 emotions. Think about it \u2014if you\u2019re not watching the TV on game day, you are probably on your phone scrolling through social media. Streaming ads on social media after they air allows people to view them over and over again. Some companies, like <\/span>Wendy\u2019s<\/span><\/a>, used social influencers to increase viewership. <\/span>Snickers<\/span><\/a> opted to broadcast a live commercial, which generated buzz online for its creativity. Other companies, like <\/span>84 Lumber<\/span><\/a>, aired a segment of their commercial and then directed viewers to their website to view it in full. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many Super Bowl campaigns opted to comment on current social justice issues. These brands used their airtime as an opportunity to reach consumers of all backgrounds in a particularly divisive time. Many of these ads were less about the product and more about what the brand stood for. <\/span>Coca Cola<\/span><\/a> re-aired one of its controversial commercials, titled \u201cAmerica the Beautiful,\u201d that celebrated our country\u2019s diversity. Many other brands took notice of this trend: <\/span>Audi\u2019<\/span><\/a>s advertisement advocated for gender equality, <\/span>AirBnB<\/span><\/a> showed support for diversity with the hashtag #WeAccept, and <\/span>Budweiser<\/span><\/a> showed an immigrant\u2019s tale. Several of these ads were subject to criticism for their controversial stances, but they still had the country talking. <\/span>Kia<\/span><\/a> won the USA Today Ad Meter poll for enlisting Melissa McCarthy to advocate for environmental awareness. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another key strategy that worked for brands was humor. <\/span>It\u2019s a 10<\/span><\/a>, a hair product company, showed a diverse group of \u00a0people with different hair styles. But what many people found humorous was its subtle jest about President Trump\u2019s famous (or infamous) coif. <\/span>Honda <\/span><\/a>took a different route with humor, as its commercial featuring celebrity yearbook pictures invoked a twinge of nostalgia. This ad resonated because it was both universal and good-natured.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the divided nature of the country, Super Bowl LI provided an opportunity for brands to reach out to a variety of people around the country. Some were funny and some were controversial, but many got people talking. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan Wall is the vice president of La Salle University\u2019s Chapter of PRSSA. He is a junior majoring in communication (communication management\/public relations) with a minor in Latin American studies.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Sarah Pino is a senior at La Salle University, majoring in communication with a focus in public relations. She\u2019s involved in a variety of clubs on campus.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dana Pecora is a sophomore communication major at La Salle University with a dual track in public relations and mass media. You can catch her on La Salle\u2019s television station, where she works on several shows.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Super Bowl LI was quite the game. From that stunning comeback to Lady Gaga\u2019s performance, it certainly had millions of people talking, tweeting and engaging on social media. But millions of people weren\u2019t just talking about the game \u2014 some of the public relations campaigns and ads sparked conversations as well. One of the biggest brand impacts happened long before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2896],"tags":[2664,587,40,2665,2663],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7817"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7817"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7820,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7817\/revisions\/7820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}