Until last night, many of the recent Super Bowl games have been close. This makes advertisers VERY happy. Why? Because the viewership of the game stays high and ads in the latter part of the 4th quarter still reach well over 100 million viewers.
But what happens when the Super Bowl is a blowout — and the score is 36 to nothing with about 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter? This is where being a smart advertiser pays off, and “leaking” Super Bowl ads prior to game day pay off.
So, here’s a short quiz: Were you still watching Super Bowl XLVIII at the two minute warning of last’s night game? If yes, what was the lead ad during the commercial break? [No cheating by looking below. 🙂]. HINT: It was the ad with the most views on YouTube before the game began — with more than twice as many views as any other Super Bowl ad. As of game time, it had 36 million views! The next two commercials combined had 30 million views.
Keep in mind, the advertiser carefully planned to run the commercial during the break for the two-minute warning. It was anticipating a tight game and a huge audience. It chose this time spot!!
By releasing the ad on the Wednesday before the Sunday game, the advertiser not only created a lot of buzz; the ad instantly went viral. And in today’s critique of Super Bowl ads, it has consistently ranked among the three best.
Here’s the ad — Budweiser’s “Puppy Love”:
