Super Bowl Real-Time Marketing

As you probably remember, during last year’s Super Bowl, Oreo gained more attention for a tweet than many companies did for their 4 million dollar ads. Their quick thinking during the game’s blackout was able to give them far more than just 15 minutes of fame, and for virtually no cost at all. 

After Oreo’s success with just one tweet, many companies were looking to “win” the real-time marketing bowl this year. In addition to commenting on the commercials using the hashtags #brandbowl and #adbowl, Twitter users commented on brands’ real-time marketing efforts through the #RTMBowl tag. While some of the comments praised the companies for their creativity, the majority of them criticized them for trying too hard.  

Rather than spend 4 million dollars for a 30-second ad spot, many companies tried instead to create their own buzz on Twitter “for free.” Beginning with good intentions, most attempts ended up falling flat, getting negative responses from Twitter users and fans. The holy grail of real-time marketing flops came from JC Penney and their #tweetingwithmittens stunt. The brand tweeted “We’re ready for the big game no matter the temp. Staying warm thanks to #TeamUSA mittens!” before going on a two-tweet spree that seemed to be drunk tweets from the person running the account: 

Although I’m sure the idea started as a ploy to sell mittens and garner attention on Twitter, it ended up getting scores of negative attention from online users. Many people tweeted things similar to “Go home @Jcpenney, you’re drunk.” Some brands, including Coors Light and Snickers, even took advantage of JC Penney’s misfortune, and turned it into their own marketing opportunity. 

However, two brands that actually did air commercials also had a moment of greatness during the #RTMBowl. Cheerios and Budweiser created two of the best commercials of the night (in my opinion), and both shared a cute moment on Twitter after they aired. First, if you haven’t already seen them, here are both of their commercials:

And here, utter cuteness (and a plug for adoption, yay!):

Clever, quick-witted, and supporting a good cause. If there truly is a winner in the “#RTMBowl,” I believe this would be it.


By Hailey Lanier