Twitter Advertising in Super Bowl XLVIII
In the past, viewers of the Super Bowl have enjoyed watching for the game/halftime show/ads/etc. Something new that is emerging from the spectacle that is the Super Bowl, though, is participation in social media during the game. More specifically, Twitter reported that 24.9 million tweets were sent about the game and halftime show—up from 24.1 million in 2013. Everyday people and companies alike used Twitter during Super Bowl XLVIII—with some interesting results. I couldn’t actually watch the big game this year but I could be seen at my desk at work frantically refreshing my own Twitter feed every few seconds to see what everyone was talking about. Turns out, there was quite a lot being talked about on the social media platform that night that I think is worth discussing.
One much-talked about Twitter mishap was that of JCPenney’s strange string of tweets that led many to believe that the PR person in charge of the Twitter handle had had a few too many drinks.
However, it ended up being a misguided attempt at promoting some Team USA mittens that the retailer is selling for the Olympics. Whoops.
I think it's interesting that JCPenney, who didn't actually air a commercial during the game, still managed to generate major buzz just through those tweets. Whether the tweets effectively promoted the Team USA mittens is questionable, but it certainly helped JCPenney's Twitter get some attention. The company reported gaining 10,000 followers, 40,000 mentions, and 1,800 tweets that mentioned "#tweetingwithmittens".
Another ad promoted via Twitter worth mentioning was Esurance. Their TV ad aired immediately after the Super Bowl ended and advertised a contest giving away the $1.5 million that Esurance supposedly saved by buying an ad after the Super Bowl aired. By the next day, millions of people had entered the contest by tweeting using the tag "#EsuranceSave30" and the Esurance Twitter gained around 180,000 followers.
This year, it seemed like most companies opted to hold off until the second half of the game to air their ads (or at least the ads that were worth watching), which was right around the same time people stopped paying attention to the game itself, since it was such a landslide win for the Seahawks from the start. According to Super Bowl Advertising as Commercial Celebration by Matthew P. McAllister, ads can "receive more attention if the game itself is a blowout," which was, of course, the case this year. People turned their attention away from the game and onto commercials and social media, making those who held off until later in the game to promote their products the winners.
Those companies who opted out of dropping $4 million+ on ads during the game, such as JCPenney and Esurance, were very smart about their advertising, in my opinion. If done right, Twitter advertising can generate a ton of buzz and be used as an effective promotional tool. Traditional TV commercials have often been criticized as a "celebration of prestige commercialism" (McAllister), so Twitter "ads" seemed to be more well-received, in my opinion. It will be interesting to see what businesses do in years to come with commercials and social media promotion. If done right, it clearly can have impactful results that steer away from the crazy commercialism circus that has become the Super Bowl.
McAllister, Matthew P. “Super Bowl Advertising as Commercial Celebration.” Communication Review 3, no. 4 (December 1999): 403.
