Super Bowl Round-Up: GoDaddy's Misstep, Mercedes Cuts Loose

We’re just days away from the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona and while sports talk shows are droning on about under-inflated footballs, the Chief Marketer team is bringing you hot takes on the really important stuff–Super Bowl marketing campaigns! The week leading up to the big game has been a busy one, with one ad already yanked from the airwaves, and several big brands unveiling their big Super Bowl commercials. Here’s a look at what’s happened; enjoy the game (and the ads)!

GoDaddy pulled its Super Bowl ad after a public uproar this week, according to this story from USA Today. Remember a few weeks back when we highlighted Super Bowl ads starring cute puppies? Well, GoDaddy’s axed spot featured a cute puppy separated from its family. When the puppy finally made it home, the family was so happy to see it! Because they had sold the puppy on a website powered by GoDaddy. Yes, really.
Mercedes Benz took last year off from the Super Bowl ad game, but this SFGate story reports that the brand is back this year with an animated, fable-themed spot. The German luxury car maker will bring Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare” to life on Super Bowl Sunday, and the report digs into why the brand steps away from its usual performance-first persona for big events like the Super Bowl.
MediaPost is reporting that brands are prepping their social media “war rooms” in advance of the Super Bowl this year. Teams dedicated to steering social conversations in real time and spreading the buzz across Facebook and Twitter will be hard at work while most people are cracking open a beer and watching the Pats and Hawks square off (and Katy Perry at halftime).
Adweek’s Jordan Teicher weighs in with a column digging into the fact that the Super Bowl isn’t just a huge television event, as many will watch and engage with the game on computers, tablets and mobile devices. He offers five trends that marketers need to be aware of going into the big game, including tips on why visual ads generate the most clicks and why spending on social distribution is becoming more efficient.
Hidden Valley is running a cool Super Bowl-themed video across the SheKnows network, because everyone loves ranch dressing on their Super Bowl snacks! Check out Chief Marketer’s story on the video, which pokes fun at the vast divide on Super Bowl Sunday between parents attempting to watch the game with young children running around, and those attending an all-adult party.
SAP is the NFL’s official cloud software solutions, business software solutions and business analytics software sponsor, and the brand is taking its technology to the fans this week in Arizona with the NFL.com Stats Zone fan experience. SAP partnered with Phizzle, a company that captures social media information and puts it on a SAP database, according to this Chief Marketer story. Fan sentiments are then displayed on the ribbon across the top of the exhibit. Trending topics and heat maps showing trending topics are also a part of the experience.