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).

After a long hiatus from the movie theaters for no good reason, I’ve returned, seeing several pre-summer blockbusters in the past few weeks. One thing, in particular, that’s stuck out in my mind has been a definitely noticable increase in ads, with a surprising number of auto makers pushing for my attention (albeit my attention is pretty much on the screen regardless).

As several articles I’ve been browsing through today point out, my perception of an increase in theater ads isn’t just my imagination. A pretty interesting AdAge article by Jean Halliday points out that movie theater ad sales are quickly rising across the board, capturing the attention of auto makers:

Screenvision’s revenue in the segment for the first half of 2008 is almost double what it was in the first half of 2007, said exec VP-sales and marketing Mike Chico, who said he expects to sell out 2008 inventory in the third quarter, which is unusual.

Which basically translates into more high profile ads showing up in theaters, and more interesting creative being done in longer formats, like the full :60 version of the Dodge Journey waterslide spot that’s been all over broadcast TV (in :30 form) of late.
So while part of me is tossin’ back the popcorn waiting impatiently for the movie to start, the other part of me is glad that big-budget advertisers (and the subsequent big-budget ads) are going to be showing up more and more in the theaters. Because while I’m a captive audience starting blankly at a mind-numbing screen, there might as well be something enjoyable for me to stare at.