Yesterday we witnessed Super Bowl LV attempt to carry on as normal in a world that鈥檚 still anything but. We saw a big spectacle with a crowd that included more cardboard cutouts than people. Instead of Super Bowl parties we had friends and family watching alone or on Zoom calls. Importantly, a diaper brand stole the show and topped our list of most engaged ads 鈥 the first time a diaper brand has ever appeared in Super Bowl advertising.
So how did it do it? Quite simply, Huggies did what it does best. It remained true to its core values and stayed traditional, celebrating new babies being welcomed into the world. It didn鈥檛 need to stray into the context of Covid-19 and remind audiences of the loss and turmoil that has been felt and experienced on a massive scale. Instead, it reminded us how adorable and hopeful babies are and that life goes on 鈥 and it worked.
Our rating system at System1 measures the emotional reaction of ads from 1 to 5.9 stars and so we weren鈥檛 surprised to see Huggies' 鈥淲e got you baby鈥 get a whopping 5.4 stars, despite never appearing in a Super Bowl ad spot previously.
The trend of being less spectacular and more muted and emotional was seen across the top 10 this year. It was a conservative year for advertisers, who took few risks with their Game Night spots, and understandably so.
We already got a sense of discontent at Christmas 鈥 nods to the global pandemic disengaged viewers. With Super Bowl ads being so expensive, it takes a lot of bravery to try something different. So with the pandemic putting severe limits on filming, it made sense for advertisers to keep things low-key, technically.
Most brands made the right judgment in believing that the public wanted the friendly and familiar this year 鈥 so we saw less technical wizardry and more fun, small-scale ads that make people simply smile 鈥 and, of course, plenty of celebrities thrown into the mix.
Fluent devices
Only two brands from scored 4-star ads again in 2021: T-Mobile, featuring Anthony Anderson and his mom squaring off on the field; and Cheetos, starring Shaggy and riffing on his 2001 megahit It Wasn鈥檛 Me. Both of these ideas are direct follow-ups to the successful ads from last year when Anthony and his mom starred in T-Mobile鈥檚 spot and Cheetos employed MC Hammer to reprise a nostalgic and familiar hit.
Rather than show a lack of creativity, this repeat success shows the power of a good idea. Many good ideas have the potential to become fluent devices, the name for characters or scenarios that return again and again to power the narrative of their ads.
One great example of a fluent device is the animated M&Ms characters, who have a fantastic track record across its ads as well as at the Super Bowl. Back this year with a tongue-in-cheek montage featuring comedian Dan Levy from Schitt鈥檚 Creek (a lot of people鈥檚 saving-grace TV show during lockdown), its animated stars took the brand to second place in this year鈥檚 rankings.
Celebrity
Levy is only one of a horde of celebrities in this year鈥檚 best ads: eight out of 10 of the highest-scoring spots used a celebrity, continuing a trend from the past few years of using famous faces to grab the audience鈥檚 attention.
For instance, third place went to delivery firm Doordash, which ran an ad starring rapper Daveed Diggs. With all respect to Diggs, its biggest draw was a non-human celebrity, Sesame Street star Big Bird. The spot featured a modernised rap version of In the Neighborhood, showing that cultural references (which grab the attention of our connection-making right-brain) remain a powerful way to make audiences feel good.
Tech takeover
One, perhaps unsurprising, trend this year was the rise of tech brands in the top 10 list. Last year two of the top 10 ads were from tech firms. This year, with audiences ever-more reliant on screens to keep in touch with loved ones, six of them were.
As well as delivery service Doordash, and T-Mobile urging phone users to keep up with family drama, the list included a first top 10 appearance for Nintendo promoting its Switch console not just as a games machine, but a way to keep fit while sheltering at home.
What is striking is that tech brands are realising the importance of brand building and using the largest stage of them all with Super Bowl to do it. They are also using the power of emotion to sell what traditionally has been sold on rational benefits.
Social context
So far, so normal. What about the herd of elephants in the room 鈥 the fact that Super Bowl LV took place in an unthinkably changed context from Super Bowl LIV? Was there any acknowledgement from advertisers of the Covid-19 pandemic, or of America鈥檚 political turmoil, or of the Black Lives Matter movement?
In general, no. In stark contrast to the ads of last spring, there鈥檚 not a mask or a Zoom call in sight. The only advertiser to try to really address America鈥檚 divisions 鈥撀Jeep, with its two-minute Springsteen epic 鈥淭he middle鈥 鈥 managed to please nobody and landed a 1-star ad, compared with its very impressive 5-star ad from last year.
To be clear, these are all the right decisions for advertisers. As the UK鈥檚 Christmas ads this year showed, there are definite limits on how much audiences appreciate advertisers being topical 鈥 ads that explicitly mentioned Covid-19 performed worse at Christmas than those that offered a bit of fun and escapism. And it seems to be the same story here in the US. Contrary to the pronouncements of some marketers, people really don鈥檛 expect brands to take a stand in ads.
However, ads are part of culture, and the changed world was reflected at Super Bowl 2021 in more subtle ways. The only "serious" ad in the top 10 was for job-hunting app Indeed, which offered hope at a time when unemployment figures and economic anxiety are high, thanks to the pandemic.
Another 4-star ad, from mortgage firm Rocket Mortgage, deployed humour and celebrities (Dave Bautista and Tracy Morgan) to support its message reinforcing the need for financial caution.
So 2021鈥檚 ads looked at first like more of the same, but a closer view showed subtle shifts. Will these trends 鈥 towards tech, the comforts of home and family, and escapist celebrity ads 鈥 be sustained? That depends on whether advertisers recover their appetite for risk, and whether audiences want them to.
Jon Evans is chief marketing officer at System1