Commentary

Clever Marketing Spotlights Brands Surrounding Most Viewed Debate In History

A number of brands took Monday night’s debate as an opportunity to ride on the coattails of what is being called the most-viewed presidential debate ever, with more than 80 million viewers on TV and online.

Some of the brands that bought time before and after the debate played off the aggressive nature of this election cycle. Others appealed to our more conciliatory instincts.

Tecate beer debuted its “Beer Wall” ad on Fox News, Telemundo and Univision, mocking Donald Trump’s call for wall on the United States’ southern border.

“The time has come for a wall,” a booming voice begins as an eagle flies over the desert. “A tremendous wall. The best wall. The Tecate beer wall.” And a can of Tecate light is slammed onto a diminutive wall between California and Mexico. “A wall that brings us together,” the narrator continues as men from each side of the border start shaking hands and sliding back and forth across the wall.

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“This wall might be small, but it’s going to be huge. You’re welcome, America,” concludes the ad. The astute 30-second spot takes one of Trump’s central tenets and rides the absurd idea to marketing glory.

According to Amobee Brand Intelligence, digital content engagement around Tecate was at its highest level on Monday night during the past three months. Engagement was a strong 134% higher around the beer brand on debate night than the average from June 26 to September 25.

It’s not always wise to take on a presidential nominee in such an obvious fashion, but the approach paid off.

Other successful ad releases of the night include an Audi spot promoting the RS 7, where a man and a women get into a vicious fight, alluding to the veracity of the Trump/Clinton general election. The 90-second ad, titled “Duel,” is mostly played in reverse. It is superbly done and keeps one wondering how the absurdly violent brawl got started. It might be obvious, but I’ll let you enjoy it.

There was 54% more engagement with digital content around Audi on debate night than the daily average for the month prior, according to Amobee.

The ads feel like they belong in the Super Bowl, though the NFL championship has far more ad time during the actual event than Monday night’s debate. With upwards of 80 million viewers, marketers were bound to pull out all the stops.

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