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Interesting people, insightful points of view and incredible stories on what’s popping and not popping in marketing, tech, and culture you can use to win immediately. Brands, Beats and Bytes boldly stands at the intersection of brand, tech and culture. DC and Larry are fascinated with stories and people behind some of the best marketing in the business. No matter how dope your product, if your marketing sucks your company may suck too. #dontsuck
DC: Okay. Brand Nerds. This is the official Monday morning quarterback host Super Bowl edition of Brands, Beats, and Bytes. We started this a year ago, as you know, Brand Nerds.
Well, some of you Brand Nerds know. And we're doing it again this year. And we're going to do it every year after this, where Jeff, Larry, and I give our view on the Super Bowl ads that just dropped on yesterday and we're going to give our favorites, just have a discussion about it and, uh, we have not talked to one another Brand Nerds about this.
So I don't know what Jeff's going to say. He doesn't know what Larry's going to say. Nobody knows what I'm going to say. So we're just going to kind of go at it from there. But Brand Nerds, we know all of the different ad meters and all of the different methodologies used. This is coming to you from a few brand practitioners who have built brands and actually have launched some ads on the Super Bowl.
So with that, LT, what you got, brother?
LT: Oh, that's, that's great intro, D. And, uh, I'm glad you said that because Brand Nerds. Our perspective, because of what DC just talked about, is much different than the ad meter and whatnot. Our perspective is, how much is this elevating the brand? How much is this really taking the brand to the next level?
So you can have a really entertaining ad, but if it doesn't elevate the brand, we don't care. Right, Jay? You got any thoughts before we dive in?
JS: No, I completely agree. So this isn't about ad meter. Um, it's about brand principles and why we think, um, these, uh, these brands, these, these ads stand out.
LT: Perfect.
So who wants to lead off? J. You want to lead off or shall I?
You go
JS: on LT.
LT: Okay, cool. So, um, I thought there were a few quite good ones yesterday. Um, one that became number one for me was the State Farm with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
DC: Okay. Okay.
LT: Remember that one?
JS: Yeah. And the reason why, um, I liked it so much is again, going back to the brand.
Um, because State Farm is all about like a good neighbor. That's been their slogan forever. And so the whole ad and they, and so they also again, grounded in what the brand is. And they also took the Super Bowl to the next context, because obviously a lot of folks want to throw out celebrities and whatnot.
So they made it seem like it was this feature film and whatnot, and they sort of poked fun at the whole concept of Super Bowl ads. And they had Arnold and Danny DeVito, and they had, you know, the big names in there, so that was fun. They made it fun, but the whole ad was predicated on Arnold couldn't say neighbor correctly.
DC: That's right.
LT: Everything about that ad was fun. You wanted to see it, but it was all going back to the brand in one word. If you want to sum up State Farm in one word, it's neighbor, right? Good neighbor, of course, is best, but it's neighbor because neighbor, you think of somebody who's neighborly. And so for me, it was really fun and went right to the heart of what that brand is and continues to be. So I loved it from that perspective. What say you?
JS: Well, this is where, when you asked me, I should have gone first. I wish I would have gone first. Cause then you'd have had to think of another one. So, but, but, but building on, on what LT said, a lot of, a lot of what you said, LT was the reason I dove in into that one because it, it nailed. Um, their, um, their brand message. And as we know, they use the analogy like a good neighbor. And so this kind of just drilled down on that in a, in, in a hilarious way, using people that would attract you to look at the ad. So it covered a lot of things for me. That's why, that's why I liked it.
LT: Sorry, Jay. But hey, great minds think alike.
That's why we're Again, Brand Nerds, that goes to show we don't share this. D, what say you?
DC: I agree with you, gentlemen. I love that ad. By the way, while AdMeter is a different source than Brand Positioning Doctors, it is number one ranked on AdMeter.
LT: Wow, and I didn't look. I purposely didn't look.
JS: Yeah, wow.
DC: Ranked number one. I love the timelessness Of, uh, of the strategy here.
LT: Yep.
JS: Yeah.
DC: While they have, uh, used motion pictures as a, as a way to, uh, to have a bit of a joke. Um, they have, they have stayed true to your point, Larry, on, um, their company being positioned as a neighbor, not, not a company, but a neighbor, which is why you find State Farm locations in strip malls and homes and neighborhoods across this country. So the fact that they adhere to a strategy that is a timeless strategy, I'm I'm impressed with. The other thing is that, um, they are not afraid. This is the State Farm, uh, team. To have their own star, who is Jake, take a step back, but still be relevant in the context of an ad.
LT: Yep.
DC: So they don't require that Jake be on the same level in this particular execution. As Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, by the way, Danny DeVito, that was a but and it was a brilliant but it was so, so this shows that the brand and the team, they have confidence in their brand strategy and their brand principles and also in their.
And having their own icon in Jake. So that's the, uh, that's the second thing. The third thing that I love about this ad, and I think this can be said of all of the best performing Super Bowl ads, is that It was just hilarious.
LT: Yeah.
DC: It was hilarious. And if you didn't know anything about the football game, which it appeared as if Ice Spice didn't really know what was going on during the game, but she was there, next to Taylor Swift, you can laugh at an ad like that, and not know anything about the brand.
LT: So, I thought that was fantastically executed. Yeah, and to add to that point, what you're also saying, D, is They're really mindful of the whole, like I mentioned before the Super Bowl context, that it's such, you know, a huge audience and they played to that huge audience, right. They played to that, uh, in a way that was really relevant and great in every way. So, yeah, awesome.
DC: Yeah. Love that ad. So Jay, do you still want to take a thought about a different ad or do you, or do you want to. Stick with what you got or you want me to go?
JS: I, I, I, I have, I I have a second place my, okay. I had had 'em ranked, but this was, this was more because, um, of, uh, how they used a popular sport.
And this was E-Trade. Um, the, the pickleball babies. And, um, the word that came to mind was simplicity because people who haven't traded before, they kind of shy away from that and they, and you bring in the babies, which, which, um, resonate with a lot of people and it was entertaining. Okay. And so I like that ad personally, because, you know, I gotten in the pickleball and it captured my attention and the simplicity of getting on the like, Hey, anybody can do this.
It's just get on E Trade and you can, and you can, um, improve your investments. So that was a personal one I liked, um, but it, it wasn't, it wasn't the number one.
LT: No. Yeah. You know, I, I missed that one quite honestly, but the other thing that E Trade it, they've been using babies forever. So that's something that they've always done too.
We like when people, uh, when brands use something, uh, continuously, when they have, you know, uh, brand identifications that they consistently use. That's something that easily brings people in too. So that's cool that they did that from that perspective.
JS: That that's, and that's a great point, LT. So if you, if you, if that ad popped up and you didn't see any words or you couldn't hear it, you know, people have been following the brand and say, I bet that's an E Trade brand. I mean, the E Trade ad. Yep.
DC: No. All right. So J and LT, I didn't like that ad quite as much as the prior E Trade ads. The reason why is while they were consistent in using the babies, um, the babies did not get an obvious benefit different than anyone else in the ad. So let me go back to prior E Trade ads using babies.
They would show the babies doing something and the babies would, would be balling out. Uh, living in some massive home, by a pool on a yacht, they would be doing something where it was clear that these babies had wealth as a result of managing their E Trade accounts effectively.
JS: That's a good point, D.
DC: Yep. Okay. This one, it was just, thank you, Jay. This one, they were just playing pickleball. Now. You could, you could connect the dots. And by the way, it's a little tough for the marketers to think that consumers are going to connect all the dots for them and go, Oh, they've managed their money well, so they're in a retirement community playing pickleball and they don't have to go to work today. But most consumers are not thinking that. So, uh, I'm going to give the brand nerds, uh, a little secret of, uh, of mine. I have been doing this for decades. Here is what I think, uh, had the E Trade staff did this at the rough cut level, maybe even before then, maybe they could have made some modifications to save the ad in my view.
Hmm, whenever I get a rough cut. Uh, Jay and LT.
LT: D, hold on quick for those Brand Nerds you don't know what a rough cut. Could you do a quick explanation of what a rough cut is?
DC: Thank you, Larry. You, you, I'm getting ahead of myself. Once an ad is shot, the agency gives over to the client what's called a rough cut, and it is the first version of the ad. First version of the ad.
So it's not color corrected. The sound is not right. If you got music, it's not mixed. It's like, think of it as a rough draft, a rough draft. So they give this to you in, in, in film form. Thank you very much, Larry. When I get these rough cuts, I, I, uh, either view and or listen to them nine times. Okay. The first three times I watch it.
And listen to it just as is boom three times down the second time I turn the sound off and I let it play three times and I'm just looking at the images just the I'm not hearing anything. Then the 3rd time I hit play and I close my eyes so I'm not seeing anything. I'm only hearing. When I do that, I pick up something different each time.
Mm-Hmm, . So let's go back to this E-Trade, E-Trade ad.
LT: Brand Nerds, take note of that. That's brilliant.
JS: Yep.
DC: That's, that's it. Thank you. That's, I, I don't think I've ever said that to you all as well. You have, okay, so this is a secret of mine. Now I'm giving it out for free, but this is a secret of mine. So if you run that E-Trade ad and you turn off the sound.
What you've got are a couple of babies playing pickleball against a couple of old people. That's it. That's all you got. That's not an ad. Especially a Super Bowl ad. That's not a Super Bowl ad. So I think if we as marketers start to use, find our own methods to evaluate this. Now this should have been addressed at the brief stage and at the concept stage. But I'm just saying, if it had any chance. Of being, uh, saved, that would have been the place to save it. So, I'm not a fan of that.
JS: Okay.
LT: Great, great logic and reasoning.
JS: Yeah, and Brand Nerds, just, uh, me and, me and D, have been, how long have we known each other, Deeb? Forty years.
DC: Forty years, brother.
JS: Forty years, right. So, I do want to replay last year. They, they clowned me for liking the Temu ad . So . It was so just
DC: No, we did, that's true.
JS: And, and, and they got a lot of response from the Temu ad. So it's just that, you know, just, just a little, little humor there. . Yeah.
DC: Alright, so mine guys. I think it's going to surprise you all and it's the Dunkin Donuts ads with the done pigs. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. So, uh, uh, so I'm going to give you my criteria for Super Bowl ads.
Three S's. Stunt, strategy, and sauce. Stunt, strategy, and sauce. So the State Farm ad that you mentioned, Larry, and that was your favorite too, Jeff, that was very stunty. You know, like, big time movie, that kind of thing, but at least attempted to be like an action movie. But the stunt here was that you had Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez, and Tom Brady in one ad. In the same ad. And so I thought to myself, man, that is a huge stunt. And what's behind that, interesting to me, just how did this come together, was because of the company involved. And the company involved is called Artist Equity, Artist Equity, and it is a studio that was launched by, co founded by Ben Affleck. and, uh, and Matt Damon, you, you, you all know, they have been long time producing partners, long time, uh, producing partners. And so that's, that's how this thing was started. And also there was a, um, there's a, a gentleman, I think his name is Cardinale from RedBird Capital. Who's like the third, uh, among those who started yet, uh, Gerry Cardinale from RedBirdital.
Now check out what artists equity says about themselves. It's on their website on about. Artists Equity is an independent, artist led studio reimagining the relationship between talent, studio, and distributor. We prioritize and partner with creators through an innovative model so that all can truly participate and realize the value they bring to a project.
Artists Equity is co founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Gerry Cardinale. Okay, so what does this have to do with Dunkin Donuts? This is where I go to strategy. Dunkin Donuts. Oh, actually it's Dunkin's, not Dunkin Donuts. My bad. I'm sorry. Brand team, CMO. I know you're Dunkin's now. So the strategy I would imagine is to bring more traffic into the store.
They want to drive more traffic into their stores. That's one. And the second is before they hooked up with Ben and Matt, Duncan stores were considered to be a bit more lower brow than Starbucks. Like if you want like a real experience, go to Starbucks. Now, meanwhile, true baristas would say, no, you don't want to go there, but.
Reception in this country, Starbucks is a better cup of coffee than, uh, than Duncan and Duncan was more in the realm of, I'm sorry, Duncan. I think you all know this to be true in terms of coffee, McDonald's land. Okay. They were more in McDonald's land, so they needed to raise the profile. Enter Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
I mean, these guys are A list Oscar winning, uh, Oscar winning folks. So that strategy, uh, that strategy really worked. So they had to stunt. They got Artist Equity. They got these, all of these big artists. They got this strategy of premium levels. So they're trying to, now where's the sauce come from? Here's where the sauce comes from.
At the end of this ad as they're walking away, Ben and Matt are talking to one another and, and Matt says to Ben, well, at least you got a drink named after you. And I'm like, whoa, wait, wait, hey, hey, hey, what's that? What's that about? And it turns out, Brand Nerds, that this morning, Dunkin's has launched a new Dunk King's, which is a boy band, a faux boy band in the Super Bowl ad, menu.
And on the menu is a drink that is Ben Affleck's drink. It's his go to drink, reportedly, for Dunkin Donuts. And it was the drink that Matt Damon had in his hand during the Super Bowl. So that's the sauce now. So here they put the sauce on it. So once they drive people in, they're like, this is the menu and this is the specific drink.
So I thought all of that together, brilliant, brilliant. What say you?
LT: Jay, you want to, you want to hit it first?
JS: Oh, uh, D, I, um, on that one, I picked up on the sauce. Because when he said that, I thought I was like, Oh, is that already on the menu or is it going to be on the menu?
DC: Yeah.
JS: And for people who are into Dunkin they probably would have researched that.
So I picked up on, um, the, the sauce is what resonated with me at the end of that ad because it leads to, um, a behavior and a sale, um, you know, from, from, uh, inquiring about that. So I did pick up on that piece. Yeah.
DC: Mm.
LT: And they do it in a fun way too. That's what they do.
DC: Yeah. Yeah.
LT: Yeah. So it's funny. I didn't pick up on the sauce part, but if you all remember last year, I believe if Dunkin was, I think it was my favorite and Ben Affleck was in last year's, right?
DC: He was. Yes.
LT: So I go to your three S's D the strategy piece. that they understand their brand is grounded and founded from New England. So that's also built into the, what I thought was really part of the stunt to, again, use your three S's, right? So you've got these two, you know, proud Bostonians being Aflac and Damon, and then you've got the goat and the guy who is, you know, from San Mateo, California, uh, left, grew up next door to our pod father, Tom DiOro, by the way, but is in the world is grounded in New England being Tom Brady, right?
And then the foil is JLo, who is. Ben Affleck's significant other who's obviously from the Bronx with the whole, the whole, uh, thing about pinstripes. That's a little sauce too. So, you know, they set up this whole wonderful, fun, dramatic part of it, but it's grounded in the strategy of that we're proudly from New England.
And that's part of the whole strategy for who they are and what they're about. They're not shying away. They're actually leaning in a big way. So I thought that was great and really entertaining too.
DC: Yeah. Um, uh, I, I am just so impressed with. Matt and Ben and the way they do their business to say, so just, just like there, there also is one other element that I am going to mention.
So this is not the force. I mean, the three rather in the three for successful Super Bowl ad, my opinion is the stunt strategy and sauce. But Matt and Ben, they have an additional S that few others can touch. And it's savant like subtlety. Savant like subtlety. Alright, so, um, Why would Matt and Ben pick a boy band to try to pretend to be like?
It's because there are major boy bands from the Boston area. That is why they picked boy bands because they know Boston is like a manufacturer of boy bands of all hues. So that's one thing. And the second thing that really just messed my head up. I'm sitting here and, uh, someone mentions, they said, you know, um, Taylor just landed in Las Vegas.
Taylor Swift with Blake Lively and Ice Spice. And I'm like, uh, Ice Spice, like, what? Okay, Blake Lively I get, they, Taylor and Blake have long been friends, but Ice Spice, like, what, what, what, what, what's the Ice Spice? By the way, Blake Lively is an actor, uh, Brand Nerds, you all probably already know that. Ice Spice is an emcee. She's a rapper from, uh, from New York, I think the Bronx. Actually went to SUNY, uh, Larry. Uh, went to college at, uh, at SUNY. And I'm like, what's up with the ice spice thing? And it was just bugging me the whole night. She was in the box next to Taylor Swift, hugging her. And I'm like, what? It's like, maybe they just met, liked one another and just kind of get.
And then after I thought about it a bit more after watching that Dunkin Dun Kings, uh, ad I was like last year. Artist Equity produced a Dunkin commercial. Who did it feature? Ben Affleck and Ice Spice. Oh, wow. They're working at a different level, y'all, over there. I don't know, I don't know who they're, who, who thinks of this shit, but, like, that's a different level of, that's a different level of working right there.
JS: Yeah, that is.
LT: Well, and also, to build on that, you know, we covered Air, the movie Air, last year. Right? And that's, obviously, that's, uh, that's their production, and they both were stars in it. Um, I think because they're such excellent filmmakers, that they care about every detail. Every detail matters, and they know that's, like, magnified a million times when you have that.
I think that was a 60, right? D that at, right? Oh, yeah, it was 60. Yeah, right. I know it wasn't a 30. So it's magnified. You got 60 seconds. So you better use every millisecond that you can and they they go all the way because they understand that. Right?
DC: Yeah. Uh, I mean, just, I'm incredibly impressed with, with them and, uh, just, I learned from that. I'm inspired by that, but, uh, I w I would think these, these are some of the best sets of ads I've seen for the Super Bowl. And I would be remissed if I did not mention Usher baby that half time show y'all. As he ended it, I turned the world to an A.
LT: Yeah.
DC: And he's right. He's right.
LT: Yeah. He was awesome. Yeah. And I hate the little I heard, oh, you know Usher I heard beforehand. Oh, Usher's, yesterday's news kind of thing. You know, you heard those whispers, right? Come on now. Um, he was amazing. Yeah, he was amazing. And before we got mention Usher, one of my other favorites was the BMW. Um, you know, that Usher had a brief cameo in with Christopher Walken.
DC: Oh, Christopher Walken, that was good.
LT: Yeah, that was good.
DC: I like that one.
LT: Because again, that went to the brand of, ain't nothing, there's no imitation of BMW.
DC: Yeah, that was good. I thought that BMW ad was good. The Kia one with the missing seat of the grandpa and doing the, doing her routine in front of his house, that was also a dope one.
LT: Yep. Alright, we can go on forever, guys. I think that's it. Yeah. You good?
JS: Yes.
LT: All right. Uh, Brand Nerds. Thanks for, uh, thanks for listening to this very special Super Bowl edition of, uh, Brands, Beats, and Bytes. The executive producers are Jeff Shirley, Darryl "DC" Cobbin, and Larry Taman and Hailey Cobbin, and Jade Tate, and Tom DiOro.
DC: The podfather.
LT: That is he. And if you do like this podcast, please subscribe and share. For those on Apple Podcasts, if you are so inclined, we love those excellent reviews. We hope you enjoyed this podcast, and we look forward to next time, where we will have more insightful and enlightening talk about marketing.