A Missed Opportunity?

We all experience it, that feeling you get the next morning after staying up late one fateful night every February! You know the one—that glorious night of imbibing entirely too much on discount beer and wine. A night spent stuffing back nachos as though the apocalypse has left us nothing else to enjoy, wearing face paint in our favorite team colors like we've lost all sense of dignity. That night, of course, is Superbowl night!

As a creative thinker and marketing sycophant, I wait each year with bated breath for the latest round of Superbowl commercials. It's a tradition passed down for generations. Some years are more a disappointment than others, yet some are SOLID GOLD! Who can forget the pinnacle of Superbowl commercials, the iconic Budweiser Frogs? And who doesn't recoil at the first mention of every car-related Superbowl commercial ever? I'm looking at you, Kia Gerbils! It's this hit or miss nature that has led to the vaunted pre-release.

Brands pre-release their ads to get a sense of consumer reaction and get the jump on their competition. It shows you the nature of today's marketing and how nervous the big brands are about getting it wrong.

The brand we're going to focus on today pre-released their ad on January 29th, 2020. While they certainly stuck to their brand message, I felt they missed not only their mark but also an opportunity to exploit the message behind the commercial itself for extended brand engagement. That brand? Snickers.

First, let's refresh our memory.

And we're back. Hungry? Did you get the point of the commercial?

My personal experience was a verbal, "what was that?" But after reviewing the tape, I understood where they were going with it. For years Snickers marketing has focused on feeding that "hangry" need for a snack. Remember that hilarious Betty White cameo?

The 2020 ad took that "hangry" message and attempted to make it relevant on a global scale! The world needed a Snickers. Things had gotten OUT-OF-HAND! While the communication lacked some clarity and focus, it was a smart play on years worth of advertising.

So how could Snickers and Mars have kicked it up a notch and capitalized off the message of the ad? Let's explore!

Imagine if, at the end of the ad, they presented you with a clear CTA. "Visit Hangry.com and help Snicker the world." Upon visiting the site or branded landing page, you realize you can send your choice of a selection of Snickers branded "hangry" care packs to any number of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and yes, even frienemy's. Your selected targets would receive a branded package and a personalized message from you. They would laugh or sigh and enjoy a Snickers, hopefully curing their "hanger" pains. Mars would relish in a few dollars, but most importantly, collect consumer information to continue targeting. Just a few clicks from you, and they cookie your browser, collect data with your order, and get an opportunity to continue sending you branded email and targeted ads DAILY! Laughter and joy would create an additional word of mouth channel to the campaign, potentially giving it legs well into the 2nd quarter of the year.

This single ad would have put Snickers in a better spot with consumer engagement, giving them a chance to continue their campaign messaging to consumers who receive hangry care packs, ACROSS THE GLOBE!

There could be several reasons Mars didn't maximize the opportunity presented by a captive audience and a $3 Million Superbowl ad spend creating a better return on their investment. To borrow an iconic line from one of their competitors, "The world may never know."

Regardless of the hits and misses from our favorite brands, it won't change the delight and excitement we all feel when the big game rolls around again, and we all skip the football for the real Superbowl, the advertising!

*The Snickers brand and all associated imagery are property of Mars, Inc.