• by Jordan Bitterman , February 7, 2011

Motorola Xoom
Motorola used its time to make an actual product announcement, which is a notion seemingly lost in the era of sneak peaks and deliberate leaks. Rather than previewing the spot a few days early on YouTube to generate quick buzz for its ad (the flavor du jour of many marketers), Motorola was content to ride the wave of earned value it garnered with positive reviews for its Xoom tablet last month at CES. If Xoom lives up to its early reviews, this spot has an opportunity to be a great launching point for the product.

Groupon
There must have been a big, internal debate when Groupon was deciding whether or not to produce an ad for the Super Bowl. Many "dot-coms" have occupied the same space only to become punch lines later on. (Pets.com, anyone?) But, this gutsy move coincides with the company hitting its stride as it captures the imagination of the marketplace. Why not strike while the iron is hot? The spot was a little odd and light on entertainment value, but that may be beside the point. While a $3 million dollar ad investment may not justify a $6 billion valuation, just occupying this rarified space may help Groupon keep on a roll.

Snickers
Snickers brought new talent to the table in Roseanne Barr and Richard Lewis as a follow-up to last year's commercial featuring Betty White and Abe Vigoda. Other brands used humor in their work last night, but some neglected to connect to a core message. Snickers' did a great job knitting-in its takeaway that staying sharp requires a pick-me-up snack. Snickers actually did satisfy.

Chevrolet For Cruze and Volt
With a series of spots complete with smart takeaways wrapped up in high entertainment value ("42 Italians" for "42 per gallon") and a brand content integration with "Glee" during the game's fourth-quarter stretch drive, Chevrolet owned eco-friendly for the night. Stringing its investments together this way seems like a sharp way to achieve reach and frequency for their message.

The Bad

GoDaddy.com
A few years ago, GoDaddy created an equation for its Super Bowl presence: scantily clad women + call-to-action to finish the story online = big web traffic. The strategy has obviously worked, otherwise they wouldn't buy expensive time year after year. But, the formula is getting old. Sure, sex sells, but these spots have moved into the vicinity of "Girls Gone Wild" -- they are pointless at best, uncomfortable at worst. I checked on GoDaddy's website and, unfortunately, Gratuitous.com is already taken.

Bud Light
In an evolution to Anheuser-Busch's annual Bud Light blitz, the company put tons of resources behind the earned-value run-up to the spots. First, 10-second teasers were released on YouTube via press releases and an influencer strategy. The teasers then directed viewers to Facebook to "like" the spots and take a quiz. If the user passed the quiz, the rest of the commercial was unlocked. The payoff? I have no idea. It all just gave me a headache. At $100,000 per second, the spot itself may have been the most efficient part of this activation.

The Summary
This may just be the year that "paid, earned and owned" hit an inflection point. Super Bowl marketers tested so many ways to build audiences for its platforms (witness: Bud Light, above). While there's nothing wrong with trial-and-error, a few critical rules must be embraced moving forward: 1) in the majority of cases, advertising alone is not content because there's simply too much good content out there already against which advertising must compete, 2) value -- perceived or real -- must be part of the experience and 3) go Pack.