Best 2020 Super Bowl Ads
In February, we have a tradition of reviewing Super Bowl ads, so here’s our take on the best 2020 Super Bowl ads, what strategies these ads deployed, and why these 2020 Super Bowl Ads were a cut above the rest.
The Super Bowl is a notable event, not only because it’s annual football championship, but because this event has morphed into the Academy Awards of the advertising world. There’s a simple reason for this: the ratings, i.e. viewer volume, for the Super Bowl make it an ideal time to buy an ad and make a big impact. Because of the high cost of advertising during the Super Bowl, big corporations and their ad agencies pulled out the big guns in creativity to introduce some of the most powerful, poignant, funny & memorable ads you will see all year.
It is interesting that many people look forward to watching the commercials as much as watching the game. With that in mind, here’s our take on the best 2020 Super Bowl Ads:
Best 2020 Super Bowl Ads: Budweiser – Typical American
The “Typical American” ad from Budweiser gets a gold star for many reasons. First, they targeted their ad directly toward their demographic: hard-working, blue-collar, middle-class Americans. The folks that drink Budweiser beer are not the folks who want a pale ale from a local microbrewery, or a fancy German lager. This ad highlights the “typical American” and instills a sense of pride in those people’s lives and work. The ad does a series of cutaways to firefighters, truck drivers, sports teams, etc. – all the while extolling the virtues of those various professions & the qualities that define those people. This is probably the most strategic & best 2020 Super Bowl ad of all of them.
Strategy Deployed: Reframing. Budweiser reframed the notion of “typical” which has a negative connotation – and reframed it into a positive.
Best 2020 Super Bowl Ads: Jeep-GroundHog Day
This ad is brilliant, funny & memorable because it features an older Bill Murray re-creating the GroundHog Day movie plot of waking up every day to the same scenario. The kicker is that everything’s the same until Murray comes across a bright orange Jeep. Humor kicks in when he kidnaps the groundhog and the two go on a series of adventures: 4-wheeling in the Jeep, snow-shoeing, and more. This ad brings together many memorable elements to make an impact: 1) a notable actor; 2) a notable movie; 3) ridiculous, dead-pan humor (for which Bill Murray is known); 4) an animal character (the groundhog). The creative team that brainstormed the Groundhog Day themed ad for a Super Bowl that occurred on Groundhog Day is brilliant.
Strategies Deployed:
- Memorable Persona: Bill Murray
- Homage to a memorable movie: Groundhog Day
- An animal character: The groundhog
- A surprising product placement: The orange Jeep appears in the Groundhog Day event
Best 2020 Super Bowl Ads: WeatherTech-Lucky Dog
The WeatherTech SuperBowl ad is a quiet, feel-good story about how the University of Wisconsin Vet School saved a dog’s life. This dog was featured in last year’s WeatherTech commercial and then was diagnosed with a tumor on its heart. The ad succinctly tells the story of how this dog’s life was saved. The lesson here is that, when there are a ton of rowdy, raucous ads, you can stand out with a quieter ad that forces people to listen more carefully.
Strategies Deployed:
- “Quiet” Ad: A counterpoint to most of the other ads
- A True Story with a Happy Ending: There’s a power that comes from true stories.
- An Animal Character: When people see dogs on TV or in real life, their blood pressure goes down. Lovable animal characters garner attention.
- Benefit Opportunity: WeatherTech also used the ad as a means of raising money for the University of Wisconsin Vet School.
There were plenty of other ads shown on the Super Bowl that were eye-catching, funny, or memorable. But we deem these three ads the best 2020 Super Bowl Ads because they were truly strategic on many levels.
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