Impact Touchdown: Ads with sustainability messages in Super bowl 2024
, עם 0 תגובות, קטגוריה: English Posts, אימפקט מרקטינג,The Super Bowl is a festive event for advertisers, who pay a lot of money to reach a massive audience. Every year, some brands include a social or environmental message in their ad. Read on to find which brands did it this year.
This year's Super Bowl was watched by an average of 123.4 million people in the US, making it the most-watched broadcast since the 1969 Moon landing. For such fantastic exposure, a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl costs $7 million.
I was curious which brands would dedicate this expensive and significant exposure to convey social or environmental messages, advancing their brand, reinforcing its values, and differentiation. This is what I found this year:
Google Pixel: An app that enables people with blindness to take clear pictures
Guided Frame on Pixel 8 uses Google AI to make it easier for people with blindness or low vision to capture photos and share daily life. The ad is shown from the blurred perspective of a man with vision impairment, presenting moments from his life.
Not only does the product itself create a positive social value (making the option of taking photos accessible), but the ad itself adds social value: it allows us to see reality from the perspective of the other (evokes empathy), it shows us that people with vision impairments have normal lives (changes stereotypes), and it presents social diversity (normalizes diversity)—impact marketing at its best.
The director of the ad, Adam Morse, is a person who is blind, and the voiceover in the video is by Stevie Wonder - the wonderful musician who is entirely blind.
A video about the creation of the advertisement offers further insight into the world of people with vision impairments.
If we want to use the advertising power of brands to promote social equality, it's essential to do so not only by featuring people from diverse populations in ads but also by entrusting the tasks of scriptwriting and directing to people from diverse populations. Then, we get to see a different narrative and perspectives, not just different characters.
By the way, Google's commitment to integrating people with disabilities as employees and to developing features that make its products accessible to people with disabilities is embedded in policy and work plans, detailed on the company's website. For example, see Google's diversity report for 2023.
Hellmann's Mayonnaise: Reducing food waste
This year marked the fourth consecutive Super Bowl in which the Hellmann's brand offers people to use its superpower: turning random food leftovers in the fridge into a tasty dish.
Hellmann's social mission is to reduce food waste—a critical challenge in a reality where more than 30% of food finds its way to the trash, mostly thrown away by consumers at their homes. However, this message is not explicitly presented in the ad (except in the slogan "Make taste - Not waste"), with no mention of sustainability or environmental benefits, not even the financial savings from saving food at home.
Instead, consistent use of humor and stars from the American comedy and cinema world is employed to propose mayonnaise to prepare tasty dishes: this year, Kate McKinnon, and in previous years, Pete Davidson, Jon Hamm, Brie Larson, and Amy Schumer. Humor is a great way to convey messages related to sustainability, which is often perceived as a serious and gloomy issue.
Dove + Nike: Encouraging self-confidence among girls and young women in sports #KeepHerConfident
A new study by Dove found that 45% of girls quit sports by age 14, mainly due to low body confidence.
So Dove teamed up with Nike and world-renowned academic experts to create the Body Confident Sport program that builds physical self-confidence for girls aged 11-17. The program's materials are available online, free of charge.
The ad raises awareness of the issue and program, encouraging girls and young women to continue training.
Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign was created in 2004. Although the problem has not been solved in the 20 years since (social media have exacerbated it), Dove deserves commendation for its persistence and consistent investment in this important campaign, which raises awareness, stimulates discussion and action, and creates lasting value for the brand.
Unlike Google Pixel and Hellmann's Mayonnaise advertisements, Dove's ad does not touch on the product itself. Therefore, in my opinion, its potential impact on everyday life is relatively limited.
Silk Almond Milk: Feeling good
Actor Jeremy Renner, who was severely injured a year ago when crushed by a snowcat vehicle (while trying to save his nephew) and broke 30 bones, stars in an advertisement for SILK's almond milk. Renner demonstrates excellent physical condition and credits the tasty almond milk.
I must say, I'm a bit uneasy about how Renner throws the wooden spoon like a knife into the almond milk carton, incredibly close to his daughter sitting at the table. While it mimics a cool effect from action movies, for some children, this may evoke violence they are familiar with from home. Irresponsible and inappropriate.
One might consider it as a standard ad for a basic consumer product. Still, since it's known that the environmental impact of plant-based foods is generally lower than that of animal-based foods, such an advertisement encourages a more sustainable daily lifestyle - with the help of celebrity influence.
As in the Hellmann's Mayonnaise ad, there's no explicit mention of environmental benefits (except in an implicit message in the slogan "Feel planty good"), only of taste and nutritional value.
An ad that normalizes a sustainable lifestyle creates a positive social-environmental impact, especially when broadcast to 123 million viewers.
Snapchat – because social media is harmful to the soul
Snapchat's ad goes against other social media platforms, which have become a source of distress for their users: more likes – less love; more perfect pictures – less imagination; more influencers – fewer individuals, and so on.
Snapchat is presented as an alternative offering more humanity, privacy, love, and so on. According to these messages, the ad promotes a product with a positive social value. At least, apparently.
I'm unfamiliar with Snapchat, so I can't comment on the reliability of the messages in the ad. But I know that the New York City Mayor announced, not so long ago, the filing of a lawsuit to hold five social media platforms, including Snapchat, accountable for fueling the nationwide youth mental health crisis.
So, I'm not sure about the real social impact of Snapchat, but I think this ad is worth mentioning here.
Michelob ULTRA beer – Messi plays football with women
I include the Michelob ULTRA beer ad, featuring football player Leo Messi and actor Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), because it shows Messi playing beach football with a mixed group of women and men.
I assume women are a defined target audience for this low-calorie beer, yet – it's not taken for granted to see a football game of women and men together.
This is another good example of an ad normalizing a desirable norm - this time by a superstar like Messi, who influences many children, teenagers, and men worldwide. I'll drink to that! Cheers!