What You Can Learn From The 2024 Super Bowl Commercials

One of the biggest advertising events of the year was…Meh.

Dare I say…terrible?

Here’s what you can learn from the 2024 Super Bowl Commercials (AKA these companies’ million dollar mistakes). 

A good story is what connects.

When you think about past superbowl commercials, which ones do you remember? Did it have a celebrity or did it make you laugh or cry? 

One of the most memorable commercials of all time was the Dodge “God Made A Farmer.” It was slow, simple, and deeply connected to the heart of their brand – creating quality trucks for people who are doing hard work. That commercial aired in 2013…we still talk about it 11 years later! 

People LOVE the Super Bowl commercials. It’s the most attention commercials get all year…not a single one had a good storyline that really connected.

What you can learn:

It can be easy to try to go the “impressive” route (hiring “expensive” talent, wanting to look “professional”), but that stuff doesn’t always convey the message you want. Thoughtful storylines have longevity and connecting on a deeper level keeps the conversation going for years.

Understand your audience…and what they actually care about.

Actual conversation between me, my mom, and my brother:

Me: What’s with all of the aliens?
Mom: Yeah, I don’t get it.
Weston: Because aliens were confirmed real this past year?

Did anyone else pick up on that? I really think some of these creative directors sat in a room and thought aliens were going to be a highlight in popular culture…it was EVERYWHERE. 

I am genuinely curious if my mom and I were the only ones who didn’t realize or care, but from where I’m sitting this was a major miscalculation. 

Ultimate Weenie Of The Week: Apartments.com used a concept of aliens arriving to Earth and needing somewhere to stay and suggest apartments.com – except the aliens looked like giant cockroaches and there were police everywhere (suggesting they are doing something wrong and are unwanted) and then say “I know renters when I see them.” Yikes.

Jeff Goldblum is the comic relief (which is fine) but like…your target market is renters…and you just compared them to gross looking bug-like aliens (which has its own connotations). 

Who approved that???

What you can learn:

Your audience MATTERS. You have to view everything from their perspective. This requires deep work to not just guess what they may value or find interesting. Even when you’re on a national stage speaking to millions of people, your target market stays the same. You aren’t trying to entertain the masses – you’re trying to connect with YOUR people.

People can sniff out inauthenticity. 

Do you really believe that Jason Mamoa really uses TMobile? Or that Dan Levy cares about Homes.com? Every year brands try to WOW with celebrity appearances and I think back in the day that used to work… but now everyone is doing it and it’s not interesting. 

Also in the age of influencers, we KNOW when someone is being inauthentic, promoting something just because they got paid to do it.

In my opinion, celebrities and brands have really embarrassed themselves this year by showing just how low they’ll go for a check and frankly, how dumb they think their audiences are. 

It was a massive over-estimation of what influencing people to buy.

What you can learn:

The crowd may be moving towards a direction that feels inauthentic to you, and that’s okay. If you operate from a place of understanding your core values, this will help you decipher what is true to your brand and what isn’t. 

There should be a strategy behind your launch.

Cerave announced their partnership with Michael Cera a few days before the Super Bowl, before they were clamoring for attention with the other ads. When their commercial aired, it was a good conversation starter because some people in the room has already seen and giggled about it – they served almost as ambassadors when they say “oh I saw this a few days ago. Isn’t that the perfect collab?”

Dunkin “DunKings” recorded multiple other short form videos that they’ve been sprinkling on social to continue the conversation about their ad – clips from before the filming, of the guys prepping and hanging out. It works because it’s not just re-running the same concept but building upon it and keeping people engaged. 

*Bonus points for having an authentic collaboration!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MiapbMqFWE

Verizon collaborated with Beyonce to try to “break their internet” and she released NEW MUSIC. Talk about a win!!! While Beyonce is of course the main point, Verizon hitched their wagon to her release so as the conversation continues and news circulates they will be part of it long after their 60 seconds of fame. 

*My only issue with this was the messaging was SUPER confusing with “she’s dropping a new album from space”…for a minute we didn’t know if it was for the story or if it was really happening…and the singles didn’t release until way after the commercial so they did fumble the ball with that strategy. It could have been done WAY better (ie. Taylor dropping pre-sale info at the Grammy’s).

That’s a lesson in really thinking through the strategy AND execution!!! 

What you can learn:

When you invest in a big project, STRATEGY is how you ensure your return on investment. Imagine dropping $$$ on a new website or spending hours writing a blog post that no one ever sees… It’s incredibly important to think beyond just the initial announcement – whether that’s priming your audience, continuing the push, or connecting the messaging with the next steps. 

There can be better ways to market (and spend your $$$).

While it’s crazy that this was the most watched broadcast in history (123.4 million viewers!!!!), I don’t know if commercials are really where the impact is. 

Commercials used to be the prime marketing channel. We’re much more sophisticated and diverse now. We like to interact with different types of content. We like to share experiences. We like to admire celebrities but we trust the opinions of people who feel more relatable to us.

There are a million ways to get people’s attention. 

Your job as your Chief Marketing Officer of your brand is to really understand what will be the BEST way for you to CONNECT in a way that feels true to your core values and your audience. 

I’m excited to see “small” businesses lead the charge way better than these corporations can.

Do you agree or disagree with these takes? Did you have a favorite commercial this year?