We were just as excited for Gameday as the next agency! This article by The New York Times walks us through some of the most impactful ads and prominent themes that appeared during the Patriots vs Rams game.
The New York Times opens up the article with a recap of the most popular topics covered in the game’s ad breaks: female empowerment, futuristic technology, and ‘90s nostalgia. Plus, something we also noticed immediately: a whole bunch of celebrity cameos and brand collaborations.
Let’s talk about Bud Light. We were equally surprised to see the “Game of Thrones” dragon in a Bud Light ad! It definitely fits the theme. This article gives us some insight into how that ad came to be: “The agency Droga5, which collaborated with Bud Light’s agency, Wieden+Kennedy, said that more than 25 people from the show’s crew worked on the ad. That included David Nutter, who has directed several of notable ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes. The agencies sought to mimic the unexpected twists from the show by killing off the Bud Knight.”
Twitter was lighting up when Bud Light’s corn syrup commercial came on. MillerCoors replied quickly with this helpful infographic:
At MillerCoors, we're proud of our high-quality, great-tasting beers. We're also proud that none of our products include any high fructose corn syrup, while a number of Anheuser-Busch products do. And Miller Lite has fewer calories, fewer carbs and more taste than Bud Light. pic.twitter.com/GeUUXqnSpc
— MillerCoors (@MillerCoors) February 4, 2019
Plus, the National Corn Growers Association jumped in the mix with this reply:
.@BudLight America’s corn farmers are disappointed in you. Our office is right down the road! We would love to discuss with you the many benefits of corn! Thanks @MillerLight and @CoorsLite for supporting our industry. https://t.co/6fIWtRdeeM
— National Corn (NCGA) (@NationalCorn) February 4, 2019
Twitter wars aside, we noticed a major flaw in Bud Light’s corn syrup ad – it gave two-thirds of its Gameday air time to its competitors! We were left wondering who the ad was really for.
As Professor Taylor points out in the Times article, “The female empowerment theme this year is very real.” We were hit early on in the evening with Bumble’s Serena Williams ad, which we loved!
The Times article mentioned that “The Washington Post made a last-minute decision to run a spot — a first for the newspaper.” It was unexpected to see, but relevant to the current media climate: “knowing is everything.”
We’re surprised to see that this article didn’t touch on the T-Mobile campaign. It was so unique and memorable! In addition, T-Mobile and Verizon took completely different approaches – interesting since they are direct competitors. They clearly had different target age groups. Both of them were targeting females, though – trendy and huge use of hot pink (T-Mobile) and heartstrings (Verizon). We will all remember the First Responders, but will we remember Verizon? We will definitely remember T-Mobile.
There’s so much to unpack from this year’s Gameday, so head on over to our Facebook and LinkedIn to read more of our thoughts, as well as get updates on agency life!
