Our pre-Super Bowl coverage rolls along as we bring you yet another quick Q+A with an agency exec, this time with Carmichael Lynch’s Joe Germscheid, who’s been with the Minneapolis-based IPG agency since 2009 and currently serves as partner/director of consumer engagement.
1. What ads are you most looking forward to this year?
Since so many of the ads have been released already, I’d have to say I’m looking forward to the way the public reacts to a few, instead of the ads themselves. For example, we’ve all seen the Mercedes teaser with Kate Upton. Since so many people got in a tizzy about it and really thought it was their actual ad, I wonder what the buzz will be when they see a completely different one with no car wash? (Hint, only we will notice – no one else will care!).
2. Is the ever-increasing Super bowl ad cost really worth the price?
Yes. Where else are you going to get 111 million people to watch the same thing all at once and hardly anyone using a DVR? P.S. the cost isn’t $4 million yet, maybe next year.
3. How important are the digital tie-ins?
When the price of a spot is $3 million to $3.5 million a spot, you need to get your money’s worth. Extending the spot, using the spot as a grand kick-off (pun intended) to a campaign is a necessity not a luxury. It’s interesting to me how the NFL and the networks haven’t started to monetize this part yet.
4. What do you think about the Pepsi/Beyonce crowd-sourced halftime show promo?
The promo isn’t anything new or exciting. It was a contest to get pictures. Doritos does a better job at crowdsourcing than that. Having Beyonce lip sync the “Star Spangled Banner” at the Inauguration? That was pure PR gold. Everyone is going to tune in to see how blatant her fake singing is going to be.
5. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to releasing the ads to social media ahead of time?
I think there is an advantage. But it isn’t as awesome as everyone in our industry thinks it is. Reference the answer to number 1 above. The general public really doesn’t go out looking for the ad releases, some of our friends forward us a link and we look at part of it on Facebook. The VW Get Happy preview video has about 1 million views on YouTube. It doesn’t cover a huge amount of ground, but a million is ok. If it gets you to say, “Hey, I saw something like that already online”, I guess it’s done its job.
6. Your fave/least fave Super Bowl ads ever?
My favorites have been those that started campaigns, or should have. The E*Trade Baby, the Budweiser Frogs and Reebok’s “Terry Tate, Office Linebacker.” I just don’t know why Reebok didn’t make a TV series out of that one….