Like many Northwestern students, marketing students in the Kellogg School of Management gathered for a Super Bowl party last weekend. Unlike most others, however, these students watched the big game with a focus on the advertisements.
Since 2005, Kellogg students have ranked every Super Bowl commercial based on a series of criteria known as ADPLAN: Attention, Distinction, Positioning, Linkage, Amplification and Net Equity.
Students pay attention to how well each ad contributes to building brand identity. Kellogg students said Dunkin’ and BMW’s commercials were memorable but were “only tangentially related to the actual product,” according to the commentary press release.
This year, Google Pixel won the top spot among students with its “Javier in Frame” ad, highlighting the phone’s camera features that aid visually-impaired people.
“The company was able to demonstrate a new technology that enhances the user experience, while also connecting with viewers in an unexpected, emotional way,” Kellogg Prof. and co-lead of the Ad Review Derek Rucker said in the results press release.
The other commercials students ranked in the top category were CeraVe, Doritos, Verizon, Microsoft, Volkswagen, Dove, Mountain Dew, Hellman’s, Etsy, Reese’s and Uber Eats.
Notably, no commercials received an “F” ranking in this year’s ad review. Student evaluators said this shows that advertisers are being careful about what they include in their commercials.
“It was a great year for advertising, and we saw very few brands miss the mark,” Kellogg Prof. and co-lead of the Ad Review Tim Calkins said in the results press release. “Spots attracted attention with strong linkage, solid branding and utilized ‘celebrity wow’.”
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