While many watch the Super Bowl to find out which team will come out on top, others seek to find out which advertisement really wins the game. The advertising world is a ruthless battlefield on game day with each company aiming to make the biggest splash in the consumer market. There must be some secret, some play companies that come out on top make. How does a company like Snickers create one of the longest lasting Super Bowl commercials and win the advertising equivalent of the football trophy? This week’s trade publications in Adweek shed some light on that.

This week in Adweek the Super Bowl is the hot topic with the newest ads, how advertising is evolving and how those in the past were able to succeed in creating a lasting impression. Some say that the ad with the funniest skit or the most emotional story brings home the win, but I’ve discovered that it may not be as simple as making the audience laugh with a boy band singing about the newest chips. Gianfranco Arena and Peter Kain explain how Snickers won the game ten times over in 2010.

Who knew showing an old woman getting tackled would do the trick? Snickers had two main goals for their Super Bowl spot. One was to score high in USA Today’s Ad Meter. The other arguably more important goal was to rejuvenate the brand. They needed something that would not only garner the most attention from the audience but would also establish an identity in the consumer market. While Betty White may not have been the first thing that came to mind when discussing Snickers in 2009, she was able to embody the role of “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” down to a tee. While completely out of her element on the football field being quite a bit far off from the Golden Girls set, she was able to shock the audience by being brought down in typical Super Bowl fashion creating both laughs and a new twist on what hunger really meant.

It was truly enlightening to see how Arena and Kain broke down the methodology of creating the ad. I was amazed discovering how many parts went into creating the Snickers identity other than Betty White getting sacked. It did have a hand in grabbing the attention of the audience though which related to the first step. Starting with a captivating visual moment draws all eyes to the advertisement. From there execution becomes key. The ad may have created a different emotional response had the timing and casting weren’t fleshed out. Also, Arena and Kain emphasized that making the product the hero is essential. Create a problem, in this case hunger, and use the product to solve it by satisfying the need. When a product can satisfy a need while maintaining a unique identity, it is truly successful. The duo said it best. “Just make the most of every second, and you can still be the talk of the game.”

— Darian Arriaga

For more information, take a look at Arena and Kain’s article How Snickers Transformed A Basic Biological Need Into Super Bowl Success Adweek volume 60.