12 for '12 Super Ads - MASSolutions

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According to Nielsen Research, nearly two-thirds of smartphone and tablet owners text or post to Twitter while watching TV. Those “second screens” can’t be ignored by marketers any day and especially not Super Bowl Sunday.

This year’s ads will have to excel in three key areas to stand out: Memorability, Making an Emotional Impact, and Selling One Big Idea.

With those criteria in mind, here are my 12 for ‘12 Top Super Bowl Ads of All time:

1. Betty White Snickers (2010): Betty White was in her mid-forties when the first Super Bowl didn’t even have that name yet but her comic timing is still great at 90.

1. Pepsi: Your Cheatin’ Heart (1996). With Hank Williams playing in the background, the Coke Delivery guy tries to sneak a Pepsi…and all the Pepsi cans fall out of the cooler. Busted!

1. Monster.com: When I Grow Up (1999). When we’re young, we have big dreams…then reality hits. This spot combines the two with kids saying things they wouldn’t hope for (“When I grow up, I want to be a Yes Man!”) but unfortunately happen far too often.

1. Volkswagon’s Darth Vader (2011): A boy dressed as Darth Vader tries his hand at the force. Nothing seems to happen until he faces Dad’s Volkswagon. The car revs up, the kid believes! Cut to Dad controlling the car from the kitchen via remote.

1. McDonald’s: Big Mac Song (1975). Go ahead, sing it…Two all beef patties, special sauce, pickles, onions, lettuce, cheese on a sesame seed bun.

1. Noxema: Joe Namath and Farrah Fawcett (1973). Joe’s giggling, she’s smiling. They’re selling shaving cream…right.

1. ETrade: Trading Baby (2008). Babies sell, plain and simple. Babies talking stocks even made fans of the losing team chuckle…for a minute.

1. Fast Food Tie–McDonald’s: Showdown (1993). Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird in the ultimate game of H-O-R-S-E. Nothing But Net!

1. Fast Food Tie—Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef? (1984). Clara Peller’s outburst becomes a national catchphrase.

1. Budweiser: Frogs (1995). Bud…Bud…Bud-Wise…Bud-Wise-Er.

1. Apple: 1984 (1984). Many advertising aficionados rank 1984 number one overall. It’s considered a watershed event because of the introduction of the Mac computer and an advertising masterpiece.

1. Budweiser: Respect (2002). This ad acknowledged 9/11 in a heartfelt, classy manner and only needed to be aired once—ever.

1. Coca Cola: Mean Joe Greene (1979). Hey, I’m still an unabashed “homer” and proud of it. Did you really think I was going to pick a Super Bowl Ad that didn’t have anything to do with the Steelers?

Enjoy the game…and the ads!

David M. Mastovich, MBA, is the president of Massolutions, a Pittsburgh based Integrated Marketing firm that focuses on improving the bottom line for client companies through creative marketing, selling, messaging and customer experience enhancement.