There has been a lot of talk over the last two weeks about the Super Bowl ads and which ones were the best. As far as I’m concerned, the best ads are the ones that address a business need and move the sales needle.
The problem with a lot of the popular ads is just that they are funny. At times, it seems as if Super Bowl advertisers are just competing with each other to be the funniest or most talked about. Yes, that can translate into dollars but not always. Although Budweiser’s “Horse and Trainer Reunited” topped USA Today’s Ad Meter, I’m curious if it did much to move the sales needle.
(Caveat: I recognize that the creative brief for the Budweiser ad may have contained other objectives)
Mercedes-Benz’ “Soul” ad featuring Willem Dafoe was the best ad in Super Bowl XLVII because it’s designed to meet both of the criteria mentioned above.
Ads should address a business need
Mercedes faces a problem. Most people, myself included, have a preference for Mercedes. We have positive sentiment towards the brand. However, Mercedes is not in our consideration set for one simple reason.
We.
Can’t.
Afford one.
Mercedes is an aspirational brand. We hope to be able to buy one someday. But until then, we’ll keep buying other cars.
The objective of the Soul ad was to move Mercedes into more consumers’ consideration set. Ninety percent of the ad is devoted to building the aspirational lifestyle of limitless achievement and the last poignant 10% makes the brand obtainable because of the lower price point.
Suddenly, Mercedes went from “Sure, I’d like to have one. But I don’t have that kind of money,” to “You know what..I think I got this.”
This ad was scripted perfectly to a key consumer insight.
Ads should move the sales needle
This is a given, but it doesn’t always happen.
Since the Mercedes CLA, the car featured in the ad, does not come out until later this Fall, this ad is just a teaser. Something to wet your appetite. It doesn’t contain a lot of information about specs, performance, safety ratings, etc.
It just builds anticipation.
Releasing a new, low tier car at an introductory price (i.e. this car gets you into the Mercedes family) is a long-term strategy that would have been made a long time ago based on market trend analysis and changing consumer behavior. It’s part of a larger product management strategy.
Assuming the car meets consumers expectations, I can pretty well guarantee that this will move the needle for Mercedes. Its buyer base will increase in size and a portion of the new buyers will provide a high customer lifetime value.