If there is any skepticism regarding either the importance or financial impact of leveraging prevailing pop culture to influence consumerism then look no further than this year's Super Bowl commercials which incorporated a parade of pop culture nods, references, and recollections. These included:
Parodies of Clueless and Caddyshack promoting Rakuten and Michelob respectively
John Travolta teaming with the stars of Scrubs (Zach Braff and Donald Faison) for a Verizon-hawking homage to “Summer Nights” from Grease
Comedian Wil Ferrell, in a co-branded spot for GM and Netflix, cruising in one of the automaker's EVs through the worlds of Stranger Things, Squid Game and other Netflix hits
Another co-branded spot featuring Marvel's Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) enjoying a Heineken.
Mega producer Diddy bringing one-hit wonders like Haddaway (“What is Love”) and Kelis (“Milkshake”) into a recording studio to shil for Uber Eats
Ben Affleck (as himself) working the drive-thru at Dunkin'
Salespeople in any industry will tell you that the following axiom is true:
“A customer may not remember everything you said during your pitch but they will definitely remember the way you made them feel.”
As a result, good salespeople go to great lengths in their interactions to make customers feel “heard”… “respected”… “satisfied”… and “understood.” Positive feelings like this lead to positive results, e.g. orders, referrals, recommendations and glowing Yelp reviews. And equally important, positive feelings create and perpetuate a positive brand identity.
That, in essence, is how and why pop-culture was leveraged on Super Bowl Sunday. Michelob's Caddyshack spot tapped into our shared experience of laughing at Bill Murray and company and enjoying one of the funniest comedies ever made. The makers of that commercial recognized that Caddyshack brings back fond memories, makes viewers look up from checking their phone, and pauses their planned trip to the bathroom during the commercial break. But more than that, it makes them feel something – amused, nostalgic, giggly. Psychologically, those individual sentiments coalesce into a general overall positive feeling that is then tied to the brand being advertised. It’s something that's working on both a conscious and subconscious level.
Referencing pop culture (a popular movie, song, TV show, celebrity, etc.) offers one of the most effective ways to tap into something (a shared experience) that has (or had) mass appeal in order to generate recognition and stir up those positive feelings. In this way, pop culture is the gateway into the hearts and minds of, in this instance, 113 million Super Bowl viewers/consumers. You see and hear Travolta doing the number from Grease; you recall and feel something positive, and that positivity is now associated with the brand. And no, most people are not going to see the spot and run right out and switch from their current carrier to T-Mobile. But it is a way to boost the company's Q rating, which serves as a measurement of the familiarity and appeal of a brand, company, movie, etc. Studies show a clear parallel between high Q ratings and bigger market shares, so the formula is simple:
A pleasing pop culture reference in the commercial creates positive feelings. Positive feelings lead to a higher Q rating, which translates into increased consumer demand.
With regard to this year’s Super Bowl ads, the formula proved quite valid. Behavioral research company Veylinx analyzed the behavior of U.S. consumers pre- and post-Super Bowl LVII and measured the change in demand for the products of several large Super Bowl advertisers. The data revealed that the aforementioned Michelob Caddyshack spot helped the brand realize the single highest in demand increase post-Super Bowl at 19%. Frito-Lay also scored high with a commercial that included Breaking Bad's Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) cooking up PopCorners. That spot saw a 12% demand growth, while Heineken realized 11% growth after its Ant-Man ad.
In terms of strongly influencing purchasing decisions, “online buzz” – measured by statistics like impressions, likes, comments and shares – is also a good indicator. According to social listening and data analytics expert Engagement Labs, brands that were highly successful at driving online buzz through their Super Bowl ads included the aforementioned T-Mobile, Rakuten and Dunkin', as well as Crown Royal with its commercial featuring Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. Engagement Labs also posits that greater online buzz about a brand can result in more offline conversations which (though they are far trickier to measure) also greatly impact purchasing.
To be sure, pop culture was not the one and only path to creating a great Super Bowl ad, creating buzz, or spurring customer engagement. E-Trade, as well as pet food company The Farmer's Dog, delivered memorable spots that created conversation and raised brand awareness. But the overall winner in the latter department had to be Tubi. The AVOD streaming service debuted in 2014 but has since gotten lost in the wash of both premier streamers like HBO Max, Hulu and Netflix, as well as other AVODs like Crackle and Pluto TV. What Tubi needed first and foremost was to make people aware of its existence. Once again the strategy for the ad leaned into pop culture, in this case not so much a specific property, but a shared experience growing out of current pop culture. Don't we all from time to time, in the middle of enjoying a show, accidentally hit the wrong button on the remote and bring up the streaming service's homescreen? Tubi cleverly gave us their own take on this common mishap by producing a commercial that looked like the Fox broadcast, complete with commentators Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen welcoming viewers back to the game. Suddenly, the screen changed to the Tubi menu with someone apparently browsing programming selections. The gag fooled practically everyone and had viewers screaming and accusing each other of sitting on the remote. But more than that, it brought Tubi into the consciousness of millions of Americans who previously had no idea what Tubi even is. The ad gained the streamer tons of “earned media” and fresh downloads of the Tubi app. Those downloads translate into new viewers for the streamer to report, which ultimately allows Tubi to charge more for advertising on its platform.
In the end, the Super Bowl advertising reaffirms that popular culture has moved beyond trendiness and beyond the realm of the short-lived, and is something far more than just simply entertaining. It provides cohesion for us as Americans as we’re able to find common ground in our shared appreciation of a popular TV show, song, movie scene, celebrity, etc. Indeed, popular culture has ingrained itself in our society and now influences the way we communicate, how we act, and with regard to advertising specifically, what we value and choose to purchase.