As promised, we will close our our Super Bowl ad-related Q+As and coverage on the topic in general with some thoughts from Andre Woolary, digital synthesis director at kbs+ unit, The Media Kitchen. Once again, hope you enjoyed reading the various agency perspectives on the Big Game’s advertising and aftermath. Take it away, Andre.

 Which ads did you like the most this year?
The Ram Farmer ad. It was the one moment when the commercial actually commanded everyone’s attention and there was silence at our Super Bowl party.  It was a departure from the humor, fast edit cuts, pop music and typical tricks seen over and over.  The combination of Paul Harvey’s voice, beautiful imagery and the sentiment just made the entire commercial feel honest and authentic.  Overall it was extremely well done without having to follow the formula for the Super Bowl spot.

How important are the digital tie-ins to the TV spots, i.e. mobile and social, is value increasing?
It’s absolutely critical. The TV spots need a life beyond that intangible moment on the screen. It’s the one moment that consumers are paying acute attention and anything can create a trigger for interaction (search, tweet, shazam, etc).  The tie-in also doesn’t have to be incorporated into the spot itself either.  There are many touch points available as people talk about the game or go view the spot again online that can activate the viewer in some way.  There are several approaches but no matter what, the ad shouldn’t end once the commercial is over.

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Our final day of Super Bowl ad-related coverage (we hope) continues with the return of our regular contributor Josh Seifert, now client services director at Huge, who took January off but is back to share his thoughts, on, among other things, how Twitter (along with the Ravens, of course) emerged victorious from Sunday night’s big game.

As a paid member of the advertising industrial complex, it’s my job – like it probably is yours – to pay more attention to Super Bowl advertising than any normal person. This year, because so many ads were available to watch online before the game, I was able to spend more time in the commercial breaks evaluating how much attention they were getting from the people I was watching with who don’t work in advertising. It should come as no surprise that while there’s still curiosity in the advertising sideshow, most people are far less invested in the commercials than we all are.

At a macro level Super Bowl media is powerful, measured to be effective, and drives business performance for many brands advertising. It’s by and large entertaining, even if only to wish that a particular spot could be “unseen.” Best of all, every day people actually do seek to watch some commercials—at least purposefully seeing them — instead of merely regarding advertising as for some sucker easily manipulated out of their purchasing free-will. But, despite all this, the masses weren’t banging down the doors of the nearest store on Monday morning to stock up on pistachios.

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Before the luster totally wears off, let us roll out our last two quickfire Super Bowl ad Q+As today. First up, we hear from Andrea Spiegel, managing director, New York, at Project: Worldwide agency Partners + Napier. Later this afternoon, we’ll get some thoughts from Andre Woolary, who holds the rather niftytitle of digital synthesis director at kbs+ unit The Media Kitchen. Hope you all enjoyed the wide variety of commentary from industry folks regarding Super Bowl advertising over the last week. Now, on with the show.

What were your favorite and most disappointing ads?
Overall I thought the quality of spots this year was significantly better than recent years. There were many more good and very good efforts in both the funny and emotional camps. It’s hard to pick my favorites – there was a lot to choose from…

Favorites

I loved Audi’s “Prom” spot – great storytelling about bravery that so many people can relate to. Dodge RAM’s tribute to farmers gets the tug-at-the-heartstrings award (more than the Budweiser “Brotherhood” spot, which I wanted to love with the “Landslide” track, but it crossed the corny line). I also really like Taco Bell’s “Viva Young.” Tide’s “Miracle Stain” spot was very clever – funny, memorable and relevant to the game and the brand. The E*TRADE baby continues to delight. The new Samsung spot has grown on me – the writing and performances are terrific – but it feels like an ad for marketers more than Samsung fans. Lastly, Kia gave a good showing. Probably too many spots, but “Space Babies” was a highlight.

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We continue winding down our Super Bowl XLVII ad-related coverage with an emphatic plea from Harry Woods, partner/creative director at New York-based agency, Woods Witt Dealy & Sons, which has worked with the likes of CNBC, Sundance Channel, Duracell Powermat, Cheerwine and HDMX Jam Bluetooth Speaker over the years. As the headline implies, Woods has strong feelings about GoDaddy’s latest Big Game effort. Take it away, sir.

Stop. Please just stop. Please, please, America begs you. The entire world is on its knees. You’ve got a whole year, once again, to somehow figure out how to stop being such a gigantic d-bag of a company and just knock it off.

There was hope that it wouldn’t happen again this year.

On June 12, 2012, in a New York Times Media Decoder post, Stuart Elliott proclaimed hopefully that “A ‘Grown Up’ GoDaddy Hires an Ad Agency.” Not just any agency, but a good one won the pitch to wrestle the duties of making Super Bowl spots from whoever inside the GoDaddy organization was responsible for pushing the world’s face in this yearly 30-second toilet full of sexism, bad taste, stupidity, lampshade-on-your-head-but nobody-is-laughing jokes, and rich-guy-self-indulgence that company founder Bob Parsons calls “GoDaddyesque” advertising.

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As we wind down our pre and post-game Super Bowl XLVII coverage today, let’s light up another quickfire Q+A with an agency

Which ads did you like the most this year?
First and foremost, Super Bowl spots need to be entertaining.  The Dorito’s “Goat 4 Sale” commercial did a nice job of taking a simple message- these chips taste good- and leveraging this message through an unexpected and entertaining story.  Kia’s “Space Babies” connected with its audience in a completely different way through a spot targeting parents with an emotionally-charged, yet simple, question- where do babies come from?  Both took really simple insights and brought them to life with completely unexpected and surprising stories.

Is there an advantage or disadvantage to releasing ads to social media ahead of time?
In today’s world, where everything is known, planned and released, surprise is perhaps the last remaining creative lever.  And with the Super Bowl, people are looking forward to being surprised with ads that are new, different and disruptive.  So, while it makes perfect sense to release an ad ahead of time to generate additional exposure, it does diminish an ad’s ability to surprise the viewer.  To do something interesting that no one has seen before.  As you release it ahead of time, that’s diminished.

Is the ever-increasing Super bowl ad cost really worth what’s now $4 million a spot?
No one can doubt the impact, engagement and pure reach of the Super Bowl.  But, to me, the real question is, “What else could you have done with $4MM?”  The real question is not whether or not the Super Bowl is worth it, but in really exploring and questioning other ways to engage, disrupt and create brand experiences.

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Unless you’re an old billionaire looking for a trophy wife, four million dollars for thirty seconds of action might not be such a great investment. Adobe and Goodby, Silverstein and Partners want us to think about fiscal responsibility while we watch a monkey and a horse discuss the benefits of web marketing in their online ad “Adobe Animals.”

The post-Super Bowl spot is one of those meta-commercials that’s about commercials. It’s a clever idea and could’ve been so much more impactful if the writers didn’t settle on monkey fart noises. Adobe was wise not to empty their wallets for prime airtime, because this forgettable spot would’ve been met with head shakes and scoffs.

When God is done making farmers, he can spend some time outlawing talking animals. Credits after the jump.

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If you have a few minutes on Monday at 12:30 PM EST, feel free to tune into our live chat via Google+ Hangout to discuss Super Bowl ads, what worked, what didn’t, the social media impact. It’s like our Quickfire except, you know, visual and live. Along with yours truly, you’ll be graced with the presence of colleague Patrick Coffee, editor of PRNewser, David&Goliath founder/chairman/CCO David Angelo, whose agency will once again have a presence in the Big Game (during the third quarter to be exact), among others. So, feel free to join us for a quick and painless chat, whether you’re hungover or otherwise. Here’s the Hangout info.

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We’re sure to have post-Super Bowl thoughts as well, but in the meantime, read below on what Teddy Stoecklein, group creative director at Portland, Maine-based VIA Agency, has to say about big game advertising.

First, let me tell you who doesn’t. The idea of Doritos crashing the Super Bowl with user-generated spots has lost its orange, finger-staining luster. We all know those bags are half air. And Bud Light’s “Superstitious” campaign, void of the whiffle ball-to-the-groin humor—which, sadly, always resonates with the average viewer and gets them top honors—will probably not make the top 10.

My two most anticipated spots are from perennial Super Bowl powerhouses Budweiser and Volkswagen. What’s more American, or Dutch rather, than Budweiser’s Clydesdales (see touching 2013 Super Bowl spot below)? I was hoping they’d return to their glory days when they did things like play football in front of a couple of cowboys or engage in a snowball fight. Unfortunately, I saw the spot posted online. It’s not funny at all. Instead it’s just a long, albeit charming, story to get you to name a baby Clydesdale through Twitter. Hopefully you won’t miss the game-winning touchdown when you’re busy tweeting “Buddy” or “Suds” to #clydesdales.

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 What ads you’re most looking forward to this year?

Hmmmm. This is a hard one.  I’m going to play Switzerland on this one and say all of them.

Oh. And our Toyota Superbowl Spot “Wish Granted” [above] produced by Saatchi LA featuring Kaley Cuoco in the first quarter of the game    #wishgranted

Is there an advantage or disadvantage to releasing ads to social media ahead of time?

Sure there’s an advantage. It’s already been demonstrated from an analytics perspective that releasing your ads/work (if they are WORTHY of being shared i.e. engaging/funny/smart/ and CONSUMERS ACTUALLY DIG IT) in advance of the “big game” helps to drive metrics/views and creates conversation around your work.

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What’s the deal, Samsung? What’s #TheNextBigThing? Why did you make it seem like you hired Bob Odenkirk, and why are you allowing Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd to lead a creative brainstorming session for your Super Bowl spot?

This Super Bowl teaser seems to be setting up another snarky, winking, “let’s talk about nothing” spot to follow up Samsung and 72andSunny’s last piece of pretentious guffawing. Yet, judging by the star talent Samsung has pulled together for this spot, I’m really, really hoping three of my favorite comedic actors don’t disappoint during “El Plato Supreme.”

Honestly, if the final spot is just Odenkirk improvising and talking about whatever he feels like with Rogan and Rudd sprinkling in witty commentary throughout, it would be almost impossible to screw this up. Hell, I get the feeling Odenkirk could read just about any script and make it funny, because the Mr. Show alum and current Breaking Bad actor has some of the best delivery in the game. Just, please, Samsung. Don’t let Franco anywhere near the final cut of the Super Bowl spot.

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Well, we wanted more, we got it, and our latest quickfire–and we mean quick–Super Bowl Q+A comes to us from Chris Graves, who’s spent 10 years at Team One, where he currently serves as chief creative officer, and ten years prior to that at TBWA\Chiat\Day. Answer away, sir, and we appreciate you not being overly biased considering your resume.

Is the ever-increasing Super Bowl ad cost really worth what’s now a $4 million spot? Is there an advantage or disadvantage to releasing ads to social media ahead of time?

Because of the huge investment, marketers are looking for ways to leverage their assets beyond the actual spot. This can extend the life of the commercial and generate a lot of early conversation and interest. Of course, on the flip side, if you release a bad ad ahead of time, you’ll only make it worse. An early release has actually become a great litmus test for an ad.

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No need for drivel because we’re sure you know the score if you’ve been checking out the site this week. As we lead up to Super Bowl XLVII, the agency feedback keeps pouring in. This time, Jamie Ambler, executive creative director at WPP-owned The Brand Union makes it quick and painless, giving us his list of favorite Big Game ads and why they’re on it.

Some of the Best Super Bowl Spots

I learned a long time ago that when you work in advertising, people expect you to watch and critique the Super Bowl commercials. This includes relatives and friends who want to know if you worked on any of them. “Hey, did you do that commercial with the lizard for Geico?” (I wish).  Or, “I love that beer commercial with the guy at the party–did you do that?”

As a creative in advertising, the worst thing you can say on the day after the big game is that you weren’t really paying much attention to the commercials. I confess that I actually have said that. No apologies, though. Some years, they’re generally terrible, with a few bright spots, and other years, they’re way more entertaining than the lopsided games.

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Yep, you read that right and you can try to figure out the Super Bowl correlation after viewing video submissions from “Team Winning” and “Team Beatz” the two factions at New York-based PR agency, DiGennaro Communications, who are trying to prove how awesome their shop is (like you haven’t seen something like this before). Why? Free bagels, of course.

Though some of you may think otherwise, the DGC camp insists this effort is not a “professional advertisement” for their company, going somewhat on the defensive via YouTube yesterday saying that these are instead videos “made by employees for an internal competition and was a fun, scrappy way to show our team spirit.” We’ll reserve judgement on the matter, but dammit, this is what always goes down when bagels come into play.

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Though plenty have already been revealed, what ads are you most excited about and/or looking forward to this Super Bowl?

I’m most looking forward to watching the Coke Chase follow up. I have seen the Coke Chase online, so I’m very curious about the follow-up spot that will run right after the game, showing who won the competition according to the Facebook fans’ choice.

Is the ever-increasing Super Bowl ad cost really worth what’s now $4 million a spot?

When it comes to a memorable opportunity as the Super Bowl break, there’s no expensive/not expensive discussion. It’s all about heart value, mind share and a recall that can last forever. The Super Bowl is such an important “catwalk” of the TV advertising business that’s it’s worth every cent.

How important are the digital tie-ins to the TV spots, i.e. mobile and social, is value increasing?

You can’t talk Super Bowl today without planning Social Media engagement. People already say “Have you seen on Facebook the Super Bowl ad that Coke will show in the actual Super Bowl?” It’s a weird sentence but a true and exciting reality. Super Bowl begins online now.

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