Super Bowl Ads Tug at Heartstrings, Brains, Morals

Did you get excited during the Super Bowl watching the 60 second film trailer for the new Crocodile Dundee movie Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home?

You know the one where it’s actually a showcase for Australian tourism featuring a scene at a winery and starring Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride drinking Australian wine?

According to Andreas Clark, CEO of Wine Australia,  in a press release that landed in my inbox about the time the ad aired, “The Super Bowl has the largest reach of any advertising platform in the USA, with more than 100 million Americans tuning in across the USA and many millions more people globally.” Wine Australia has partnered with Tourism Australia in a $36 million marketing campaign in the USA aimed at boosting interest in Australia as a tourism destination.

The press release dated Feb. 5 quotes Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Anne Ruston who says the new ad broadcast will strengthen one of Australia’s most important industries. They expect the investment will bring up $170 million to the economy via 40,000 additional international tourists visiting the AUS wine regions by 2019–20.

‘This campaign puts the spotlight on contemporary Australia and we hope it inspires Americans to discover the beauty and sophistication of our wine regions and try some exceptional Australian wine,” says Ruston in the press release.

According to Quartz Media, by game day, “Tourism Australia had built more online buzz than most other brands that pre-released or teased their commercials online ahead of the Super Bowl. ISpot.tv found that thefake trailers captured nearly 11% of pre-game social media buzz—including online views, and engagement on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Google search—around Super Bowl commercials. It racked up 43.4 million video views and 578k social engagements, the firm found. That followed only two other brands: Amazon’s Alexa, and a joint advertising campaign for Doritos and Mountain Dew.” For more information and to view the campaign visit Twitter: @Wine_Australia; Instagram: @WineAustralia; Facebook: WineAustralia; Website: www.wineaustralia.com.

What are some of the more memorable ads for you?
How did they hook you — did they use pathos, ethos, or logos?
How did they develop their arguments?
Leave links to your favorites in the comments!

You’ve got to love this one with BABIES — but the message is just as sweet. NOTE: Three hours after the game was over, this ad already had almost 300k views and was trending at #18 in the world.

One of my favorites of all time is this one from 2014: Proud to Be.  And there’s a really funny parody of one from that year that fell flat — and has been removed.

Another ad that caught my attention this year features one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr which I featured just two weeks ago. This one is generating significant controversy, however; is it appropriate to appropriate his stirring words about service — and apply them to a truck?