Hasta La Creative!

Football is here, the glorious season of games, players, stadiums, grill-outs, and beer. What many people don’t realize is that it’s also the beginning of the newest advertising campaigns. Yes, we all know that the Superbowl is a haven for new, witty commercials, but what about the rest of the season?

You may be surprised to know that many of the greatest commercial campaigns have been started during football games during the typical season, and for advertising companies, this is the perfect time to showcase their top A-game commercials (pun intended).

Football is something everyone watches, and it’s seen as a reason for everyone to get together. This makes it the perfect time not only to target an audience, but to also reach out to even more people that may not usually be interested in your product.

Take, for example, the coming of the Geico caveman. More than likely, this first commercial was aimed at men (hello, caveman?!), but because it was broadcast during football, female viewers also saw this commercial and found it funny. It was witty, unique, and most importantly, it started a conversation.

I know what you’re thinking – Wait, guys don’t watch commercials, they flip through channels on breaks – but hold on, they do watch commercials when they don’t want to miss those first few moments after the break when the game comes back on, especially if a call or penalty will be made. What better time to target that demographic?

Probably one of the most notable commercials broadcast during football season is Budweiser’s frogs. Remember? “Bud. Weis. Errrr.” An epic commercial. And because everyone watches, the campaign can then expand and become bigger, targeting those who didn’t catch the game or those who don’t watch football (weird, but true). There was a plethora of Budweiser frog commercials after that aired, it was so huge. It also prompted other talking animals – Quiero Taco Bell, anyone?

A few things to remember when airing or planning to air a commercial during football is this:

1. Air the commercial during the first half of the game. Most of the time the games are good, but sometimes there are a bust after the first half and people stop watching.
2. Time the commercial so that it is aired before football comes back on air, or directly after the game goes to a break. People are still watching at this point or are getting prepared to watch the game as it comes back on.
3. Make the commercial witty, and most importantly, funny. Male brand advocates are made this way, because once they see a commercial they find hilarious, they’ll point it out to their friends or even mention it when it isn’t on (trust me, I’ve seen it happen).

Let me end this post with this one remark: plan a commercial or new campaign during football season, and it’s sure to be a touchdown (I didn’t say it wasn’t cheesy).