Posted on 01/30/2018 2:14:11 PM PST by nickcarraway
Is it the Super Bowl, or the Do-Gooder Bowl?
Hyundai is using an expensive 60-second ad spot in Sunday's game to plug an organization dedicated to fighting childhood cancer, the automaker said today, following the decision by Anheuser-Busch InBev to dedicate two big-game berths to its philanthropic efforts involving water.
Hyundai's ad in the fourth quarter will promote a nonprofit group it funds called Hyundai Hope on Wheels that battles pediatric cancer. The automaker and its agency, Innocean, will assemble the commercial with a combination of content captured on game day and pre-shot footage. The spot will air in the fourth quarter.
Anheuser-Busch InBev has already released its cause-based spots: a Budweiser ad touting the brewer's Red Cross-affiliated program donating canned water to areas hit by natural disasters and a Stella Artois commercial plugging a partnership with Water.org, which invests in clean water initiatives for developing countries.
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The Super Bowl will of course be dominated by the usual assortment of silly ads and movietie-ins, like Lexus' ad that uses the Black Panther to raise interest for its $75,000 sports sedan. But AB InBev and Hyundai's move could foreshadow a pivot to more cause-based ads as marketers attempt to strike an emotional chord without touching hot-button political issues. In the Trump-era, anything even remotely controversial often sets off a social media frenzy that can put brands on the defensive. Who can argue with giving away water or curing cancer?
"Super Bowl ads always reflect the mood of the country to a certain degree," says Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University. "Our country has all sorts of issues right now and it's very polarizing. And this may be brands responding to that by embracing causes that everybody can rally around."
If more brands follow Budweiser's and Hyundai's lead, it will mark a departure from previous games. Only 6.4 percent of Super Bowl ads in the the past 10 years made a corporate social responsibility appeal, according to research from Charles Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova School of Business. But he is projecting more cause-based ads this year because they are favored by millennials, he said in a report previewing this year's ad slate.
There are potential pitfalls with taking a philanthropic bent. For one, companies could look over-promotional or boastful. Viewers might wonder whether a brand spent more on the ad than the actual cause, for instance, notes Jay Porter, president of the Chicago office of PR agency Edelman. It's a bigger issue in the Super Bowl, where 30 seconds of airtime can run some $5 million. "But certainly if it's an authentic and deeply rooted connection to the cause or the specific organization, it's a great storytelling moment, if handled correctly," he says.
AB InBev and Hyundai have longevity on their side. The brewer has been running the disaster-relief water giveaway program for 30 years, and says it has donated 79 million cans in that time. But it has never before plugged the program on a stage like the Super Bowl, so it could get an awareness boost. Hyundai's motor division helps fund the Hope on Wheels program, along with its dealers. Since its inception, the organization says it has awarded more than $130 million for childhood cancer research.
Hyundai's ad is "not in response to the social and political environment," Hyundai Motor America Chief Marketing Officer Dean Evans said in a statement. Because Hyundai Hope On Wheels is celebrating its 20th anniversary, "we wanted to acknowledge the incredible work they've done in the fight against pediatric cancer." Innocean U..S. Chief Creative Officer Eric Springer added that the ad is "not only about selling cars; it's about expressing the 'hope' that is intrinsic to the Hyundai brand."
In a teaser ad released last week, Hyundai said it would "surprise millions" with the Super Bowl spot. Last year the automaker shot its commercial during the game and aired it in the post-game. It featured overseas troops watching the game in immersive VR pods that remotely reunited them with family members at the stadium.
This year's plan also includes a more traditional ad that will run during the pregame show and tout its subcompact SUV, called Kona.
Boycott all these sponsors. I will.
Yeah. I missed it last year for the first time for decades. I’ll miss it again this year. If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem
I won’t really have an opinion on the superbowl ads. I won’t be watching.
I boycotted a lot. The one I remember is that stupid ad about the illegal alien mom and daughter for this retarded lefty lumber company. Forget the name but i wont ever set foot there. Home Depot, regardless of the illegals at the entrance...
This whole theme is only related to Dems/liberals trying to pretend that they have moral superiority.
So now that they are the only remaining audience for NFL, it is just a “feel good” thing for them to celebrate their perceived righteousness.
IMHO
I’m sure they won’t mention the $16 million raised by Eric Trump in recent years for St. Jude’s Children Hospital.
It was 84 lumber.
Also, as I recall, Busch had an ad which was pushing liberal views on immigration, because the first Busch in America was supposedly hassled about being a foreigner. That was the whole nation of immigrants thing they were pushing.
because....they are hoping that we will give them a pass for supporting the anthem hating NFL Kneelers?
Why do they say, in the Trump era, the controversial ads set off social media????? This didn’t happen before ever????
Tell me about Home Depot? Should I just use Lowes?
Rush said today that the nfl has experience a “structural drop.” That is multi-digits for 2 years running.
And I had no idea how much I was losing by giving my Autumn Sundays to a game.
I miss it, but like you miss a gf who was great in bed but cheated on you. A lot.
Won’t be watching so I don’t care what they run.
Because there is a sucker born every minute.
Because they lost their Saudi cash flow?
talked to a buddy in the league yesterday- due to poor TV ratings this year the NFL owes its advertisers $30 million in refunds and the belief is they will not charge for some super bowl ads in return...
They would have been better off paying back. Why diminish the value of your highest-valued asset?
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