Super Bowl ads are reported to be more interesting to more than half of viewers than the game itself. Game day viewers look forward to watching them—maybe even again and again—then dissecting and discussing the content and creative around platters of buffalo wings and cases of beer as the game rolls on.
But what makes a Super Bowl ad truly effective? Why do some of the ads really capture the public’s attention and others do not? John Murphy, a professor of marketing and Villanova School of Business has been researching the topic. He also put the task to two of his undergraduate classes who took a deep dive into ads that ran over the past five Super Bowls.
The results were surprising in one sense—they came up with five “general statements” that can be made about the ads—but not so surprising in another—that there is no silver bullet to define what makes an effective Super Bowl spot. Read on to get the details.
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