Super Bowl Ads Used 102 Celebrities. Here’s What That Says About Modern Marketing
The Super Bowl was ass.
And I’m not saying that because I’m a Patriots fan and we got crushed. I’m saying it because the whole thing felt strangely ass centric.
Levi’s had the best commercial of the night. It made sense for the product. It was on brand. It focused on what they sell. It felt creative and intentional.
Everything else felt half assed.
That’s hard to understand when you think about what brands spend to be there. A thirty second Super Bowl spot costs around ten million dollars. Then you pay the agency. Then you pay the celebrity. Then you pay to produce the commercial.
And after all of that, the big idea across the board seemed to be the same thing.
Put a celebrity in it.
During the four hours of commercials there were 102 celebrity appearances used to sell products.
That number says everything.
Borrowing Personality
When brands rely on celebrities, they’re borrowing personality.
They’re leaning on someone else’s identity instead of building their own.
I don’t eat Ritz because someone famous pretends to like them. I eat them because they’re tiny edible plates.
I don’t buy Pringles because a celebrity tells me to. I buy them because you can drink chips out of a can.
I don’t make decisions because an athlete tells me to. I make them because they make sense for me.
The commercials felt lazy and derivative. That’s what bothered me most. The biggest advertising stage in the world should produce the boldest ideas. Instead it felt safe and predictable.
The Brands That Stand Out
Liquid Death didn’t rely on celebrities.
They built a personality.
They’re funny, bold, weird and recognizable. They take risks. They feel different from everything else in the category.
They sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of water last year.
Water.
That happens when a brand knows who it is.
What This Means for Founders
If you own a company, you’re probably the most interesting part of your brand.
Founders and CEOs start companies because they see things differently. They take risks. They make decisions that other people wouldn’t make.
So why hide behind safe marketing?
The best thing many companies could do right now is get the founder on camera. Let people hear real opinions. Let the brand feel human.
Founder led brands create connection because people respond to people.
Final Thought
The Super Bowl showed a lot of money and very little courage.
When marketing leans on borrowed personality, it fades into the background.
If you have something to sell and something to say, get on camera and say it yourself.
