The Formula for an Effective Super Bowl Ad? New Research Finds 2 Key Factors

With a perennial price tag in the millions, Super Bowl ads have long generated huge debate about when—or even if—they're worth the investment. While only Big Game-advertising clients truly know the answer in terms of their actual revenue compared to the cost, which is currently $5.5 million per 30 seconds, a new academic paper seeks to answer the question on an industrywide level. The researchers have provided their results to Adweek for exclusive first look at their findings. Analyzing 10 years of Super Bowl ads, alongside YouGov's Brand Buzz data about consumer perception from before and after the ads appeared, the researchers found two overlapping factors emerged as keys to an effective ad: uniqueness and consistency. "Advertisements are likely to be more effective if they are unique from earlier ads for all brands," the academic paper states, "but also consistent with ads for the same brand from prior periods." In other words, a Super Bowl ad needs to stand out with creative impact in a crowded ad break—but it also needs to remind viewers of ads they've seen before for the same brand. Unless the brand needs to reposition itself, it is important to tell its story in the same way.Alexander Mafael, assistant professor, Stockholm School of Economics Titled "Measuring the Role of Uniqueness and Consistency to Develop Effective Advertising," the paper will soon be published in the Journal of Advertising. It was written by professors Alexander Mafael, Sascha Raithel, Charles R. Taylor and David W. Stewart. "Consistency is key," said Mafael, an assistant professor of marketing at the Stockholm School of Economics. "Unless the brand needs to reposition itself, it is important to tell its story in the same way. The ad should, however, make sure it separates itself from other ads of the prior year–thus, it is not a good idea to copy the prior year’s successful ads." But the researchers also found an interesting wrinkle in the quest for uniqueness: Audiences respond better to ads that feel more aligned with other spots running during the same game. "Interestingly, is unnecessary to be different from the current year’s ads—actually, the opposite: it is helpful to be similar to the same year ads. This is, however, not easy to manage for advertisers," Mafael said. "One reason could be that people look for trends and similarities in the current year and discuss 'prototypical ads' in depth. Further, the reinforcement of similar schemata in these ads helps elaboration." Emotions? Good. Sex? Bad. So what else did the researchers discover in analyzing the Super Bowl ads from 2008 to 2017? "Our models show that emotional messages, on average, tend to work better than rational messages," Mafael said. "A brand should also be sure to showcase what makes it different from other brands—what is the USP of the brand? Further, brands should aim to avoid sexual appeals." If you can afford it, running more than one ad is also a good idea. "Repetition can be important," Mafael said. "A single 30-second ad might not suffice to create the desired buzz. Our results underscore this by showing a positive effect of airing multiple ads during one Super Bowl telecast." For all the latest Super Bowl advertising news—including full ads—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2021 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories about the Big Game. And join us for the best in-game coverage of the commercials anywhere.