The power might have gone out in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for about 30 minutes but that didn’t slow down the momentum of 2013’s NFL Super Bowl XLVII powerhouse marketing commercials for this highly anticipated event. Yes indeed – the business of the NFL Super Bowl is big business for the marketing and advertising world.  Anyone from car manufacturers to soft drink brands and celebrities alike want to capitalize on the most widely televised and watched American broadcast event.  So although not a huge football fan, I couldn’t resist witnessing the branding and advertising giants go head-to-head in one of televisions most highly anticipated sporting event.

As highly anticipated as this years Super Bowl XLVII is, it’s got some benchmarks to surpass based on last years numbers. According to the International Business Times, “Super Bowl XLVI (2012) was the most-watched television event in American history.”  Check out this cool Super Bowl infographic created by Nielsen reflecting how much consumer exposure there is to the event as well as the marketing and advertising opportunity derived from this volume of viewership.

Super Bowl 2012 infographic

Despite the exposure upside of the jaw-dropping amount of people tuning in, equally jolting t a hefty price tag that viewership for Sundays event comes with. The price of a 30-second 2013 Super Bowl advertisement was $3.8 million and a whopping $7.5 million for a 60-second commercial spot.  Needless to say there is big money coming from fat wallets to make you move, groove and laugh all they way to the brand loyalty bank.

Several talented advertising agencies and internal marketing departments pushed the envelope and some emotional buttons as power brands caused us to laugh, feel sentimental and gave us lots of eye-candy in these coveted commercial spots. Let’s see who ranks MVP among marketing genius with innovative concepts and content.

Game Time Advertisers – The Most Valuable Players

Get Happy with Volkswagen! You can’t help but to smile and even crack up thanks to Volkswagen’s innovative and fun commercial during this years Super Bowl. Their marketing team scores big points with the release of several teaser ads leading into their game day ad and a campaign that actually has some longevity thanks to branding not just the concept but downloadable music as well!

Coca Cola gets the most sentimental and socially conscious MVP award with their Give A Little Bit “Security Camera” Super Bowl ad.  It reminds us that despite horrific school shootings and self-centered “team me” mentality, there remains quietly kind humanity across our globe.  This ad will surely be one of the most memorable ads for me and many others.

Equally moving is Jeep’s “Whole Again” ad reflecting our nation’s wartime heroes, family values and unwavering perseverance all to the powerhouse voice of Oprah Winfrey. A smart move in the wake of our country’s wartime to reflect patriotism from one of America’s most well known brands – kudos Jeep!

Talk about guts for God’s glory!  Dodge Ram unapologetically campaigned for brand loyalty with their Guts & Glory ad celebrating God and the life of the hardworking farmer.

The Songstress & The Scintillating Siren

Alicia Keys at Super BowlAlicia Keys gave an elegant and jazzy rendition of the National Anthem that gives this Queen of the Ivory’s the bragging rights of having one of the longest renditions ever at 1 minute, 56 seconds.

The much-anticipated Super Bowl Halftime Show left not just the crowd, but I’m sure many of the football players, swooning as Beyoncé brought her A game with a high-energy, sexy & gyrating performance this year.

Post Game Winner

It’s not just the pre-game teasers and during the game advertising where brand giants coveted consumer face time.  Some companies were smart enough to leverage marketing oppotunities even for the team that lost.  Check out this unexpected and funny ad from Jello Pudding products for San Francisco.

The Touchdown

So whether it was the funny commercials or the super sexy Super Bowl Halftime show, this years Super Bowl XLVII revealed great sportsmanship as well as great branding efforts.  Stay tuned next week when I discuss the impact of Super Bowl XLVII on Twitter and Facebook and how brands leveraged these mega social media outlets to their advantage.