Super Bowl Certainties and Changes

There are a few certainties on Super Bowl Sunday, great ads and great food. Many of this year's ads had the expected (guy) humor we expect but several took a different approach, appealing to a broader audience and choosing to pull on heartstrings and emotions rather than our funny bone. This is not the first year we have seen this, but it seemed that more were partaking. Are we beginning to see a shift in Super Bowl advertising? And how is this playing out across other channels?

In store, shoppers see a range of brands trying to get their attention for the "Big Game." From soda stacked in the shape of a football to sweepstakes, discounts and specialty baked goods, there is a lot to choose from. While shopping yesterday, I saw these usual suspects as I grabbed last minute items for the game. While I didn't see anything out of the ordinary I did get the sense that many brands were marketing to the Super Bowl goers and not specifically men or women.

The Super Bowl and football have long been thought of as the time to market to men. Women were thought of as just the hostess and shopper. Saturday Night Live, recently did a skit on just this. 

 

And while some brands still think gender first when marketing during the Super Bowl, I feel that TV and in store are shifting to appeal to all types of Super Bowl goers. 

Photo Source: ShopPic^TM