3 Brands That Won in Last Night’s Super Bowl

February 3, 2014 // Harry Kierbow

Wow, that was a let-down, huh? This year’s Super Bowl—not so super. Even though the game wasn’t so great, there were some brands who brought their A-games. Here are some of the highlights of the night. What? From the game? Seriously? No; from the commercials.

Tim Tebow’s “No Contracts” T-Mobile Commercial

Has anyone else been wondering what Tim Tebow has been up to since his pro career ended? Apparently, he’s kept himself busy rescuing puppies, delivering babies and more—all due to his new-found, non-contractual freedom. Humor is a great way to leave a lasting impression, and this one does the trick. With the controversy that has, or had, always surrounded Tebow’s career, having him come out and make fun of himself was very refreshing. It also got T-Mobile’s point across. Now, when I think of no contract, I think T-Mobile.

2015 Hyundai Genesis | Big Game Ad | “Dad’s Sixth Sense”

In this spot, we follow a father who saves his son from serious injury at different points in his life. The commercial ends when the father and son are driving in the car—the son is “distracted” and the car saves both of them. Maybe I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff now because I have a young son, but I thought this commercial was one of the best of the night. It manages to get the viewer emotionally invested (or at least the males-with-children demographic, which is a large segment of the Super Bowl viewing audience) in just 30 seconds, making you ask the question, “Who’s there when Dad can’t be?”

Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial — “Puppy Love”

I thought this one was the best of the night. This isn’t your typical beer commercial; it’s not about beautiful people on beautiful beaches. It associates the brand with an emotion. Budweiser isn’t selling beer—they’re selling the relationships that have been built around a can of Bud. For their customers, Budweiser has been there through good times and bad. They’ve been a big part of a lot of memories (and some forgotten memories), and the company is reminding them of that.

They also use a hash tag, #bestbuds, to really drive their point home and to encourage people to interact further with the brand on social media, which they did with some terrific results. One of my favorites is to the right. Got some time to kill? See more here: http://ow.ly/tcUFn

What were some of your favorite ads from last night?

Harry Kierbow

Harry Kierbow is the Director of Social Media for Commissions Inc (CINC), a real estate technology and marketing company. He's played professionally on Facebook (and other social networks) for more than 7 years now, managing campaigns for brands (both big and small) and individuals (also both big and small). Universally regarded as the greatest ice hockey goalie to ever come from Griffin, GA (by his mom at least), you can find Harry between the pipes on the ice rinks of Georgia (yes, there is more than one) or playing with his 2 kids when he's not perfecting social media ads or binging true crime documentaries on Netflix. Connect with Harry on LinkedIn @HarryKierbow.