How Brands are Breaking from Traditional Super Bowl Ads

By Felicia Guthrie

Sunday, February 3rd, marks Super Bowl LIII, and while we can expect the typical star-studded commercials from major brands like Pepsi, we’re also excited to see how brands are changing up the classic Super Bowl Commercial. Two brands breaking from traditional ads are Olay and Skittles.

In the past, Super Bowl ads have been targeted more towards the male demographic but, Proctor and Gamble is using Olay to shake things up by targeting the roughly 45% of women viewers who tune in to watch the big game.

Olay recently released teaser trailers under the theme of “#killerskin” starring 90’s and early 00's star Sarah Michelle Gellar. Gellar, who’s famous for television and movies such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Scream 2 tapped into her horror and slasher past for the teasers and possibly, the ad as well.

Check out all 3 Teasers:

Check out the Official Trailer:

Skittles candy will also be breaking from tradition with their commercial, which will not air on television. Yes, you read that correctly. “Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical” will be an actual Broadway play. The play, which will be a one night only event, will star Michael C. Hall of Dexter fame as well as a 17 person cast and will run in lieu of a commercial. A limited number of tickets will be sold, with proceeds going to Broadway Cares, a non-profit that raises funds for AIDS-related causes.

Check out the promo YouTube spot: https://youtu.be/U9U_dNo3w7k

And the Music Video Promo:

So, what can you learn from these aforementioned ads?

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR CONTENT AND FIND UNIQUE WAYS TO TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE!

Both of these ads are doing something unexpected and different. Olay, is breaking from male dominated ads, using the horror genre and hitting on a bit of nostalgia. While Skittles is using humour and exclusivity (i.e. a one night only show) to reach audiences.

Let’s look at a past example. During the 2018 Super Bowl, P&G owned Tide also took a unique approach with their “It’s a Tide Ad” ad. It was one of the most talked about and loved spots because it was clever, funny and refreshing.

You can be creative and fun with your marketing strategy but, be sure that it aligns with your brand personality or drives home a point about a benefit that your business offers.

It’ll no doubt be interesting to see how both these approaches will be received. Of all the ads teased to be airing, which are you most excited for?