A lot of advertisers blew a lot of money on Super Bowl ads yesterday clearly showing that the ad industry is broken and that agencies can still talk marketers into wasting money.
Of all the ads last night, which one is going to make you actually go out and buy the advertised product? A $165,000 sports car? An ad for a Dorito’s chip that is as unhealthy as eating some lard? Yet today people all over the media are scoring the ads based on entertainment value, forgetting that advertising is supposed to sell your brand/product.
Budweiser is a great example. The American flagship brand is in decline as it’s attacked by more popular microbrews and craft beer brands. Nothing that Budweiser can do or say is going to get someone to switch to a beer that is like making love in a Canoe; fucking close to water.
Ad agencies are great at talking clients into spending money to be on the Super Bowl ten rewarding them with great seats or luxury suites as they pat themselves on the back while consumers pass their brands by.
Adage, all night, was Tweeting about the spots, but let’s face it Adage is nothing more than a promotional mouthpiece for an industry in trouble. Ad executives charge too much money and are not held accountable at a time when more and more marketers are being held accountable.
Consumers are sick and tired of ads and ads that simply entertain and ads that create buzz don’t mean squat if sales continue to decline or stay flat. One day the ad industry will realize that they are broken.