0:01

There are three things that make a

0:03

great Super Bowl ad. It's got to

0:05

be ownable. People need to know that

0:07

it is your brand. You are spending

0:10

the money after all. It's got to

0:12

be memorable. If people can't remember that

0:14

it happened, you're missing out on the

0:16

ability to actually drive those business results.

0:19

And it's got to be relevant. because

0:21

the relevance is what allows you to

0:23

have the multiplier effect to go from

0:26

being just a 30-second spot or just

0:28

a 60-second spot to being something that

0:30

lasts longer and ultimately drives the

0:32

business impact that is needed. And

0:34

I think that this year, brands

0:36

played it safe, there was a

0:39

real lean in to nostalgia and

0:41

into what I would call Americana.

0:43

And some did it right, and

0:45

some didn't do it well. That's

0:53

Darra Trisseter, chief marketing officer of

0:56

Autodesk, formerly at Peloton and Apple

0:58

and GE and more. The morning

1:00

after the Super Bowl, Darra joined

1:02

me for a fun chat about

1:04

the best and worst of this

1:06

year's Super Bowl ads. From the

1:08

omnipresence of Matthew McConahay to the

1:10

creepy to-be spot that made everyone

1:13

get up and leave the room. Along

1:15

the way, she shares key marketing lessons

1:17

about celebrity endorsements, the ROI

1:19

on making a political statement

1:21

and more. So let's get

1:24

to it. I'm Bob Safian

1:26

and this is Rapid Response.

1:28

I'm Bob Safian. I'm here

1:30

with Director Cedar, the CMO

1:33

of Autodesk. There, welcome back

1:35

to Rapid Response. Thank you

1:37

so much for having me.

1:40

I am so thrilled. I have

1:42

been looking forward to

1:44

this conversation. We're here to talk Super

1:46

Bowl ads like we did last year at

1:48

this time. First of all we should say

1:51

congratulations to Eagles fans, condolences to Chiefs fans.

1:53

I guess the same to Kendrick Lamar and

1:55

Drake fans, right? In some ways the most

1:57

memorable night of the evening for me was...

1:59

the Serena Williams cameo in the halftime

2:02

show, which I almost missed. You were

2:04

telling me you have a Super Bowl

2:06

party now? Absolutely. We had a

2:08

Super Bowl party at my house. It

2:10

was wonderful. It was a multi-generational party.

2:12

So it was really great to see

2:15

not only my own marketing take, but

2:17

actually see how the audience and different

2:19

demographics were responding to the ad. So

2:21

it was a lot of fun. It

2:23

was a little focus group. Last year

2:26

we talked about sort of whether

2:28

you would buy a 30-second spot

2:30

for Autodesk. When you're watching this

2:32

year, like when you look at it and you

2:34

say, oh, maybe I should have that would have

2:37

been a good way to spend $8

2:39

million or leave the tech messaging to

2:41

Google and meta. No, when I was

2:43

watching the game, I was like, I

2:45

am very glad with our strategy of

2:47

not buying an ad in the Super

2:49

Bowl. Look, I think sometimes it makes

2:52

sense for your business. And I think

2:54

you really have to understand what are

2:56

we trying to accomplish? What are the

2:58

objectives? And will this help us make

3:00

that happen? I think that Not enough

3:02

brands who showed up this year did

3:05

that calculation, I have to say. So

3:07

I think we did we did the

3:09

right math by deciding to let our

3:11

customers take center stage. When a

3:13

game is not close, like this

3:15

game was, from a marketer's point

3:17

of view, not close, but from

3:19

a marketer's point of view, is

3:21

that good like people are going to

3:24

spend more time paying attention to

3:26

the ad or is that Bad

3:28

because people aren't like as intensely

3:30

focused on the screen. It's not

3:32

good because people are getting up

3:34

and people are leaving. Consumers start

3:37

to get distracted and you know

3:39

go back to their lives when it's not

3:41

as competitive until the very end. So I

3:43

do think that that has an impact. You're

3:45

making a bet when you decide where. you're

3:47

gonna buy your ad where in the show

3:49

right like in some ways it's better to

3:51

be at the end because people will remember

3:53

you more but only if the game is

3:56

close only if the game is close so

3:58

that's again you got to think about what

4:00

is the calculus for what you're trying

4:02

to do, right? You know, I always

4:04

think that going early and in the

4:06

middle is safe. Again, it comes

4:09

down to calculated risk, a

4:11

clear-eyed risk, but is a

4:13

clear-eyed risk. You gather as

4:15

much data as you can.

4:17

You strip away uncertainty and

4:19

then you make a decision with

4:21

conviction. Going late is a risk

4:24

that you should only take. If you

4:26

are sure that even if consumers

4:28

get up and walk away, still

4:30

that placement makes sense for your brand.

4:32

But if you're not sure about that,

4:34

going early or going in the middle

4:36

is probably a good way to make

4:39

sure that you gather as many eyeballs

4:41

as is needed. If you're a brand

4:43

like Autodesk and you haven't bought a

4:45

Super Bowl spot, how do you participate

4:48

in the moment, you know, in the

4:50

attention that's going on around the Super

4:52

Bowl? Or do you just try to

4:54

back away? If you have an authentic

4:56

reason to participate in

4:59

the conversation, hey, it's a

5:01

good time as any to do that.

5:03

So for us at Autodesk, you know,

5:05

our software is used to design

5:07

and make anything, whether it is

5:09

literally the Caesar Superdome Stadium in

5:11

Nola that housed it all, or

5:14

stages like Kendrick's, or its ads,

5:16

like the the Michelob Ultra ad,

5:18

right? Our software is used to

5:21

design and make anything. So for

5:23

us, being a part of the

5:25

conversation makes sense in terms of

5:27

celebrating our customers who are playing

5:30

a role in the game. Before we

5:32

get into the specifics, do you

5:34

have any like big picture assessments

5:36

from what you saw about the

5:38

tone, the mood, the creativity? First

5:40

of all, let me say that brands

5:42

played it safe this year. I think the

5:44

biggest statement of the night

5:47

was the halftime show, right?

5:49

The Kendrick Lamar halftime show

5:51

as Serena coming and making

5:53

a cameo in there. I

5:55

think that was actually the

5:57

biggest statement. Brands definitely played

5:59

it safe. leaning more into own

6:01

ability. There are three things that make

6:03

a great Super Bowl ad. It's got

6:05

to be ownable. people need to know

6:08

that it is your brand. You are

6:10

spending the money, after all. It's got

6:12

to be memorable. If people can't remember

6:14

that it happened, you're missing out on

6:17

the ability to actually drive those business

6:19

results. And it's got to be relevant,

6:21

because the relevance is what allows you

6:23

to have the multiplier effect to go

6:25

from being just a 30-second spot or

6:28

just a 60-second spot to being something

6:30

that lasts longer and ultimately drives

6:32

the business impact that is needed.

6:34

it safe, the over-indexed

6:37

on own ability, and some

6:39

try to dab into memorability

6:41

in some scary ways. I

6:43

don't think I needed to

6:45

see seal as a seal,

6:47

for example. It didn't quite

6:49

work for me. The dancing

6:52

tongue from CoffeeMate?

6:54

No. That was, you know, there

6:56

was some odd choices. pushing creative

6:58

in a way that maybe creative

7:00

does not need to be pushed.

7:02

And then I think from a

7:04

relevance standpoint, not enough brands thought

7:06

about how do I really make

7:08

this relevant. And relevance

7:10

continues to be an important

7:12

factor. I would say overall

7:14

brands played it safe. Overall, there

7:17

was a real lean in to nostalgia

7:19

and into what I would call Americana.

7:21

And some did it right, and

7:23

some didn't do it well. And then

7:25

the last theme was. brands thinking

7:27

about celebrity as a must

7:29

have. And I thought that

7:32

was not every, the celebrity needs

7:34

to make sense. And in some

7:36

cases, there was an overuse of

7:38

celebrity. Or there was an abuse

7:40

of celebrity. And it just didn't

7:42

make sense. I'm thinking, how are

7:44

you going to get the, because

7:47

I know what these celebrities cost?

7:49

And I'm like, how are you

7:51

going to get the ROI on

7:53

that cameo? Was that really worth

7:55

it? Was that the best way

7:57

to spend your marketing dollars in

7:59

some. Some cases, the answer to

8:01

that was no. Are there ones that

8:04

come to mind that you

8:06

felt like overpacked the celebrity

8:08

quotient? Well, I think, you know,

8:10

anyone where I'm like, why

8:12

is this celebrity here? If

8:14

your customers and your prospects

8:17

are confused, that's already

8:19

a no. I can tell you who got

8:21

it, right? Hellmans did a really

8:23

great job. Recreating that iconic

8:25

scene from Harry Met Sally.

8:28

That was... clutch. This iconic

8:30

scene is one that we all

8:32

love and remember and and Mayo

8:34

mayonnaise making showing up in this

8:36

scene in complete sense. So talk

8:39

about that was I think a

8:41

really good use of celebrity and

8:43

the Sydney Sweeney cameo. It was

8:45

like that mic drop moment like

8:47

I have whatever she's having you

8:50

know she's America's heart of this

8:52

modern day and so to bring

8:54

her in with Meg Ryan and

8:56

Billy Crystal was very well done.

8:59

helps make it relevant is

9:01

what you say. You could

9:03

understand why, you know, Sydney's. was

9:05

added to that conversation. You

9:08

know, for me, the Budweiser

9:10

and Bud Light ad sort

9:12

of perfectly reflected the moment.

9:14

Bud Light sort of red-blooded

9:16

American vibe of suburbia over

9:19

the grill, you know, and

9:21

then like a hallmark channel

9:23

emotion for Budweiser with the

9:25

baby Clydesdale. It's like they

9:28

were very easy to go down,

9:30

right? I think Bud Light did a

9:32

good job. You know, I think

9:34

they... understand who their target audiences

9:37

and they spoke to their target

9:39

audience in a way that deeply

9:41

resonated. I also, you know, I

9:44

think that there's something powerful about

9:46

what Budweiser was trying to do,

9:48

right? And I think, you know,

9:51

it sort of felt like that

9:53

uplifting, community gathering vibes that we

9:55

all needed, you know, so that

9:58

inspiring story of a Kyle's. full

10:00

on a journey, right, to deliver

10:02

a Budweiser keg. I thought that

10:04

was classic. It was amusing. They

10:06

understood their demographic. They had a

10:09

clear message. They were trying to

10:11

deliver, and I think they delivered

10:13

that well. Now, you've used this

10:15

expression, uh, N-B-D-B, never been done

10:17

before. There wasn't a whole lot

10:19

of that, except for things that

10:22

made you go a little bit

10:24

like you. Let us talk about

10:26

MBDB. And for those of you

10:28

that are just tuning in, this

10:30

has never been done before, right?

10:32

We like a good MBDB. And

10:35

I thought a brand that actually

10:37

did that was rocket. So Rocket

10:39

had that wonderful ad that really

10:41

talked about owning the dream, owning

10:43

the American dream, owning the home.

10:45

They took the time to tell

10:48

the story in a way that

10:50

was so powerful, right? And I

10:52

was interesting because I was watching

10:54

it live and everybody from my

10:56

father-in-law to my daughter were like,

10:58

oh, we like this one. And

11:01

you know, and every American can

11:03

remember that song. I mean, Bob,

11:05

I'm sure. in a bar somewhere

11:07

at 1am at some point or

11:09

the other you were singing about

11:11

country roads taking you home. There's

11:14

no video of that. You're neither

11:16

going to confirm nor deny. I

11:18

thought that was, the ad was

11:20

great, but what was especially awesome

11:22

was to see that connected with

11:24

the live experience of country roads

11:27

playing in the stands, right, and

11:29

having the fans in the stadium.

11:31

That was marketing magic, right, because

11:33

that was the ad. the extension

11:35

was so real, so powerful, so

11:37

wonderful. So that was an MBDB.

11:40

I don't think I've seen any

11:42

ads do that before where they

11:44

connect what is happening on the

11:46

screen to what is happening physically

11:48

in the stadium in such a

11:50

powerful integrated way. So I thought

11:53

rocket did that. They certainly owned

11:55

that MBDB category with that first

11:57

of its kind integration. the skin

11:59

cowboy had from Tubi. I didn't

12:01

even know what was going on

12:03

with that. You know, talk about

12:06

an ad that was repulsive. I

12:08

mean, that was when everyone was

12:10

like, I'm gonna go get some

12:12

chips. Nobody wants to watch

12:14

that, right? I thought that ad

12:16

was. pushing creative direction. That's what

12:18

I meant of because people were

12:20

staying away from relevance, sometimes they

12:22

turned up the dial on own

12:25

ability or memorability in a way

12:27

that didn't always work. And I

12:29

think for that to be ad,

12:31

they turned up the memorability dial

12:33

a little too much that it

12:35

didn't quite work. I want to ask

12:37

you about the Nike ad, the Nike

12:39

so win ad with top female athletes

12:42

with Kaken Clark and. Jordan, Charles, and

12:44

others. In some ways, it was like

12:46

a throwback Nike ad to some of

12:48

the things we'd seen from them before.

12:50

So it wasn't really never been done

12:53

before, but at the same time, I

12:55

thought it was pretty darn effective.

12:57

I think Nike was the winner of

12:59

the night. And I'll tell you why. They

13:01

did an amazing job. of being ownable.

13:03

It was like you said, it

13:06

was it was an ownable Nike

13:08

spot. You saw that spot and

13:10

you immediately knew it was Nike

13:13

because of the athlete presence, the

13:15

visual aesthetic, the black and white

13:17

aesthetic, and the message. It showed

13:20

the power of purpose and performance.

13:22

And I have to give Nike

13:24

a lot of credit for this

13:26

spot because in a year where

13:28

a lot of brands were staying

13:30

away from saying anything, Nike said

13:32

something. They said something important.

13:35

They said something that matters.

13:37

And they said something that needed

13:39

to be said. Right? And that

13:41

was the power of women in

13:43

sports and the importance of gender

13:45

equity in sports. And I thought

13:47

they said it really well. It

13:49

wasn't preachy. It was powerful. And

13:51

so talk about being memorable and

13:53

being relevant. And many of

13:56

us can remember what was

13:58

happening in the Olympics. was

14:00

running and she was ahead as

14:02

she looked to her left as

14:04

she looked to her right. And

14:06

that moment was a part of

14:08

the narrative. Right? Many of us

14:10

remember the journeys that these women

14:13

athletes have had and to see

14:15

them standing on business, standing on

14:17

power, standing on strength. It was

14:19

saying, look, come what may

14:21

women's sports is here to

14:23

stay. And I love that.

14:25

And you know, just watching

14:27

my daughter watch that spot

14:29

and her face light up,

14:32

it was a powerful moment. So I

14:34

think Nike did that. And they were

14:36

really the only brand that made a statement.

14:39

Right? You know, a lot of brands talked

14:41

about unity and nostalgia, which I thought was

14:43

a little bit overdone, to be honest, and

14:45

not actually reflective of the state of the

14:47

country. So it's felt a little forced, but

14:50

I thought Nike did a really good job of

14:52

saying, hey, we're standing on

14:54

business, we're standing on purpose. We're

14:56

not cause led to we're

14:58

not jumping into a political conversation,

15:00

but we're standing on what

15:03

makes sense for our business. Our

15:05

values remain unchanged. I

15:07

love how Dara gets right

15:09

to the heart of the business

15:11

and creative decisions that distinguish

15:14

brands, whether that's Nike or Budweiser

15:16

or Tubi. After the break,

15:18

we dig into what choosing a

15:20

particular celebrity says or doesn't

15:22

say about your brand. Plus, the

15:24

impressions left by Open AI,

15:26

Michelop Ultra, Duncan, Jeep and more

15:28

stay with us. Before

15:35

the break, Autodesk chief marketing

15:37

officer, Dara Trasider, talked about what

15:39

makes a successful Super Bowl

15:41

ad and why she thinks Nike

15:44

won the night. Now Dara

15:46

talks about the good and bad

15:48

of celebrity endorsements, what Willem

15:50

Dafoe has over David Beckham and

15:52

what successfully distinguished chat GPT's

15:54

ad from the pack. Let's jump

15:57

back in. I

16:02

want to ask you a little

16:05

bit more about celebrities. In a

16:07

moment like this, were there kinds

16:09

of celebrities that are more effective

16:11

in this environment? Or is it

16:14

more just about the relationship of

16:16

that celebrity to the brand? And

16:18

the person I think about this

16:21

is Matthew McConaughey, who seems like

16:23

he's sort of everywhere as a

16:25

pitch man, but like why? Matthew

16:27

McConaughey. I have no evidence that

16:30

this happened. But I have no

16:32

evidence that this happened. But I'm

16:34

imagining Matthew McConaughey had a call

16:37

with Snoop Dog. I was like,

16:39

bro, you are everywhere. How do

16:41

I get to be everywhere to?

16:44

And he collected the baton and

16:46

kept running. So if there was

16:48

a celebrity winner of the Super

16:50

Bowl, it would be Matthew McConaughey.

16:53

So I think there was a

16:55

McCon. McConnell's happening. And look, I

16:57

think math, because again, brands were

17:00

playing it safe. Matthew McConnell, he

17:02

is one of those people that

17:04

appeals to a wide, you know,

17:06

spectra of demographics. So I think

17:09

for the brands that were playing

17:11

it safe, sort of sticking to

17:13

a Matthew McConnell, he felt like,

17:15

okay, he's relevant and interesting enough,

17:17

but broad enough that he appeals

17:19

to a wide array of folks.

17:22

Now, is that effective? That's the

17:24

question, right? You know, I know

17:26

we saw him in a sales

17:28

force ad, we saw him in

17:30

Uber, Eats, did it deliver on

17:32

the message? Was it as memorable?

17:35

I will say what I remembered

17:37

more was that Matthew McKenna, he

17:39

was in the spots and that

17:41

he was everywhere. So I think

17:43

you have to think about the

17:45

brands that got celebrity right was

17:47

where there was a deep. connection

17:50

to the brand. Like Ben Affleck

17:52

continuing to talk about Duncan Donuts

17:54

makes sense. I was scanning through

17:56

some of the best and worst

17:58

quick list. already up online USA

18:00

Today, New York Times, Fast Company,

18:03

and one of the ads that

18:05

was showing up on all of

18:07

them, which a little bit surprised

18:09

me, was the Stella Artois ad

18:11

with David Beckham and Matt Damon.

18:13

I thought that spot was good

18:15

and speaking to a specific demographic.

18:18

So this, I think brands decided,

18:20

am I going to talk to

18:22

everybody, or am I going to talk to

18:24

my people? And I thought that was

18:26

one of the spots that was... talking

18:28

to my people but welcoming more

18:31

people into the conversation. Would

18:33

I say it was great? I don't think it

18:35

was really memorable. I don't think

18:37

it was really as relevant. So

18:39

it will be interesting to see.

18:41

I don't know that you're going

18:43

to get, for example, that celebrity

18:45

usage versus, you know, some of

18:47

the other ones we've talked about.

18:49

I don't know if you get

18:51

that same. that same multiplier effect, that

18:54

same continued conversation for a significant

18:56

period of time after the day

18:58

after the Super Bowl, right? Okay,

19:00

everyone's writing about it today, it's

19:02

Monday, but is anyone going to

19:04

be talking about it on Friday?

19:06

I don't think so. I will

19:08

tell you, another use of celebrity that

19:10

I really like was the Michelob

19:12

Ultra, because I thought that was

19:14

really smart with Willam Defoe and

19:16

Catherine O'Hara. You know, pickleball is

19:18

having a moment in American culture.

19:20

So I actually like that spot

19:22

a lot because I thought this

19:24

is a spot that is connecting

19:27

what is happening in culture in

19:29

a different way. And it was

19:31

also nice to see Willem Defoe

19:33

and Catherine O'Hara, kind of, you

19:35

know, at the top of their

19:37

game. And the spot, one of

19:39

our Autodesk customers played a role

19:41

in this, the mill. So Willem

19:43

Defoe, Catherine O'Hara, the athletes, they

19:45

were all in different places

19:47

and Autodesk visual effects. story. So

19:49

I thought it was it's a

19:51

nice way also showing how technology

19:53

and the magic behind the magic

19:55

which often doesn't get talked about

19:57

you know in the ads is

20:00

still playing a role. Technology is

20:02

having a moment right now,

20:04

right? Literally, physically making

20:06

people, connecting people together

20:08

digitally and seeing that come

20:10

into life in an ad was quite

20:12

powerful. I'm curious if you

20:14

had any reactions to the

20:16

open AI ad, we haven't had

20:18

an AI have an ad

20:20

before. Open AI

20:22

entered the chat at just

20:25

the right time. Let's put

20:27

it that way. I think

20:29

the simplicity, the anonymity of

20:31

their ad really reflected how

20:34

dominant they are today. I

20:36

thought there was something cool

20:38

about the pointillism and essentially

20:40

how they intentionally enlisted human

20:42

animators to design the art

20:45

that kept us guessing whose

20:47

ad it was. That ad

20:49

itself, I thought it perfectly

20:51

embodied its message that AI

20:54

amplifies human creativity and human

20:56

ingenuity. There was no other

20:58

ad like it. So in

21:00

terms of memorability, in terms

21:02

of being relevant to that intersection

21:04

between humans and technology. And

21:06

I think the final moment

21:08

that chat GPT appeared on the screen,

21:11

it felt like a perfect mic drop. You

21:13

alluded to this a little bit

21:15

earlier on, but I wanted to

21:17

ask you about, it's February's Black

21:19

History Month. And I kept reflecting

21:21

on how white the ads were,

21:24

like the celebrities and the feel,

21:26

whereas the halftime show, which you

21:28

referred to earlier, was like a

21:30

celebration of being black. And it's

21:32

almost like they were for two

21:34

different audiences. Isn't that

21:36

interesting? It is Black History Month,

21:38

happy Black History Month. I think

21:40

that Kendrick Lamar did

21:43

a wonderful job of

21:45

reflecting on our

21:47

history, helping us remember where

21:49

we're coming from, but also

21:51

reminding us of where we're going. His

21:54

music is like poetry. It

21:56

is verse, the words are

21:58

powerful. And some it... is of course

22:00

tongue and cheek fun between him

22:03

and him and Drake, but some

22:05

of it really is speaking to

22:07

the the black American experience. You

22:10

know, we have had a challenging

22:12

past and even now our struggles

22:15

are not over. We are still

22:17

very much in the middle of

22:19

that struggle. And so I thought

22:22

the half-time show really spoke to

22:24

that. And I think that a lot

22:26

of brands were afraid to do

22:29

anything. that could be seen as

22:31

making a political statement. And I

22:33

think that is sad, because black

22:36

Americans are part of America. Our

22:38

black history is part of

22:40

American history. And I don't

22:42

think brands should be afraid

22:44

to put black people in their

22:47

spot. They're not afraid to take

22:49

black people's money, right? In fact,

22:51

they want us to purchase their

22:54

products. I don't think that brands

22:56

should be afraid of showcasing their

22:58

diverse. Because, you know, customer base

23:00

in a spot. Now I do think

23:02

brands should be thoughtful about what statement,

23:05

if any, they want to make. And we don't

23:07

want to be cause led. I've been saying

23:09

this for a long time now. We want

23:11

to be purpose led, right? Because when

23:13

you're cause led, you're just, you don't

23:16

know what is important to you. And

23:18

so you are just over here and

23:20

over there and and you're commenting on

23:23

things that you have no business commenting

23:25

on. I always, if we're not doing something about

23:27

it, if it's not core and fundamental to our

23:29

business, we are not talking about this as a

23:31

brand. because it makes no sense

23:34

for us to talk about it.

23:36

But I do hope that, you

23:38

know, CMOs out there aren't afraid

23:40

to have anybody that is representative

23:42

of their customer base in their

23:44

spots, right? It is okay to

23:46

have your spots reflect your

23:48

customer base. In fact, it

23:50

is advisable to have your spots

23:52

reflect your customer base. Of course,

23:55

you do need to pay attention

23:57

and make sure that the message

23:59

is going to... resonate with the

24:01

audience. The ad that I felt

24:03

like sort of deftly navigated a

24:05

line between each side of our

24:07

political divide, surprised me a little

24:09

bit, was Jeep. It's like you

24:11

see the car, you see the

24:13

waving flags and soldiers with families,

24:15

which, you know, makes sense for

24:17

Jeep. But then you also have

24:19

Harrison Ford doing this voiceover about

24:21

our differences can be our strength.

24:24

you know and then they have

24:26

sort of the funny reference to

24:28

his name at the end but

24:30

it was kind of trying to appeal

24:32

to whatever wherever you were you might

24:34

feel like that ad was for you.

24:36

That was the only commercial that

24:38

my husband commented on and you

24:40

know he's a marine so I'm

24:42

always interested to hear his perspective.

24:45

It was one of the few

24:47

spots that did unity well because

24:49

I think it didn't it didn't

24:51

fake it. Nobody likes inauthentic unity,

24:53

right? Because it's almost, inauthentic unity

24:55

actually highlights our division. Let's be

24:57

real. But I thought they did,

25:00

that spot did unity well because

25:02

it really spoke to where we

25:04

are. It allowed you to see

25:06

yourself in the spot. And it

25:08

also, I think, made us just like

25:10

reflect and think, like, okay, there is

25:13

so much more that unites us than

25:15

divides us. That's just a fact, right?

25:17

Right. Our human experience. There's so much

25:20

more we have in common. into, and

25:22

I think that spot gave us permission

25:24

to do just that. And I think

25:26

at the end of the day, you

25:28

have to ask yourself, what do

25:31

I want to say? Who do I want

25:33

to say it to? And how long do

25:35

I want to have them think on

25:37

it? And I think the brands

25:39

that answered those three

25:41

questions, well, got it right. And

25:43

the ones that didn't. How to

25:46

miss because this year I think a

25:48

lot of brands spend a lot of

25:50

money and they're not necessarily

25:52

going to get the ROI because

25:54

when you play it safe and you

25:57

blend like I you know my

25:59

creative agency when they always say boring

26:01

is bad for business. And it is

26:03

true. No one remembers who you are,

26:05

no one remembers what you did, no

26:08

one remembers what you said, and so

26:10

you have just spent millions, in some

26:12

cases, tens of millions, and you

26:14

don't have anything to show for it.

26:16

So I do think that the brands

26:19

that ask the right questions, that answered

26:21

it the right way. did a good

26:23

job. I also want to give a

26:25

shout out to the brands who maybe

26:27

said, you know what, maybe this isn't

26:29

the Super Bowl that I'm going to

26:31

put my, my spot it. Because when

26:33

I ask myself those three questions, the

26:35

answer is not a Super Bowl spot.

26:38

That's okay too. But you know, the

26:40

Super Bowl is the big leagues, right? And

26:42

so I also want to give credit

26:44

to everybody who came because

26:47

at the end of the day you were in

26:49

the arena, you were in the hats off

26:51

to you. Well, this has been great. Always

26:53

great talking to you. Thanks so much for

26:55

doing it. Thank you so much. We are

26:57

going to do this again. I love this. This

26:59

is so fun. You have hot tanks with Bob

27:01

and Dara of what happened at the Super Bowl.

27:04

You could tune in again. The

27:08

Super Bowl is such a high-wire

27:10

act for brands, the risks and

27:12

our wide calculations of spending millions

27:15

on a brief stretch of air

27:17

time. As Dar explained, some brands

27:19

played it safe in terms of

27:21

subject matter, but many of those

27:23

overcompensated in creative ways, which was

27:25

an unsuccessful way to distract from

27:28

a lack of message. Her distinction

27:30

between being purpose-led versus cause-led really

27:32

resonated with me. Brands shouldn't necessarily

27:34

speak out on everything, but at

27:36

the same time, a brand isn't

27:38

effective if it doesn't stand for

27:41

anything. That holds true not just

27:43

at the Super Bowl, but all

27:45

year long. To the Eagles, Jeep,

27:47

Nike, and all the brands that

27:49

managed to thread the needle at

27:51

this year's big game, congratulations. And

27:53

to the Chiefs and all the

27:56

brands that didn't quite hit the

27:58

mark or didn't even try. Well,

28:00

better luck next year.

28:02

I'm Bob Safian. Thanks

28:05

for listening. Rapid response

28:07

is a wait what

28:09

original. I'm Bob

28:11

Safian. Our executive

28:14

producer is Eve

28:16

Tro. Our producer

28:18

is Alex Morris.

28:20

Assistant producer is

28:22

Masha Makutonina. Mixing

28:24

and Mastering by

28:26

Aaron Bastinelli. Thee

28:28

Music by Ryan

28:30

Holliday. Our head of

28:33

podcast isly Tom Millard.

28:35

For more, visit rapid

28:37

response show.com.