Super Bowl advertisers believe there’s one way to score big with audiences: go for the laughs.
This year, marketers hawking products from cell phone service to household cleaners are all trying their hand at humor during Super Bowl XL, which airs Feb. 5 on ABC.
So far, the list of advertisers aiming for the funny bone includes: wireless provider Sprint; online job site Careerbuilder.com; American Home Health, which will tout cleaning products; Diamond of California,with an ad for Emerald brand nuts; and mortgage lender Ameriquest.
Other Super Bowl entrants, such as Burger King and FedEx, have run humorous ads in the past and are likely to do so again.
While the competition for chuckles isn’t new, it’s getting to the point where advertisers are reluctant to try something different.
“It’s been interesting to see the wholesale rush into humor,” said Marc Karasu, vice president of marketing at Yahoo! HotJobs, which has advertised in past Super Bowls. “The goal of most advertisers is to be funny.”
Another drawback for marketers, who are paying upwards of $2.5 million for a 30-second spot, is that audience polls don’t measure effectiveness.
“Someone may laugh hysterically at an ad and never buy the product,” said HotJobs’ Karasu.
But beer champ Anheuser-Busch has dominated the rankings for years with funny spots for Budweiser and Bud Light. The brewer, which bought eight spots in this year’s game, is bringing back comedian Cedric the Entertainer and introducing a humorous character, “Bud Light Daredevil” Ted Ferguson.