The tight end has a ring. Singer-songwriters weren't like that.
Some Super Bowl LVIII viewers may have missed this outcome if they were busy checking out DoorDash's offer to give away all the items promoted during the big game.
In fact, a big trend among advertisers for this year's Super Bowl was a desire to get viewers to stay away from the game. Or at least shift your focus to another screen to do something else. You could miss a quarterback sack, or even worse, miss another commercial that someone else paid up to $7 million to air.
For example, a NYX spot featuring Cardi B ended with a QR code prompting viewers to find out what was going to happen next. TurboTax also flashed a QR code that people can follow for a chance to win $1 million. After the halftime show, Apple encouraged viewers to log on to Apple Music to listen to more Usher. Beyoncé has released a new song with the help of Verizon. Snapchat asked viewers to visit a custom website. So was Pfizer.
At the beginning of the program, Ryan Reynolds posted a trailer for the new Deadpool movie on social media in conjunction with a pre-game ad. No matter how good a person is at multitasking, no one can concentrate on a two-minute clip and what's happening on CBS at the same time.
“Almost all advertising is trying to get consumers to do something else,” said Anjali Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College. Bal pointed out that this makes sense because other communication channels are cheaper than the Super Bowl.
Of course, it's not a new tactic. Two years ago, during the 2022 Big Game, Coinbase ran an ad that was nothing more than a floating QR code urging viewers to stay away from the sports game. But this is part of an evolving trend in marketing. And in one of America's last great collective moments, watched by millions of consumers, it would be a coup d'état to even alienate a portion of them.
“People are less and less passive TV viewers. They want an interactive and engaging experience, which leads to second-guessing,” says Jura, marketing professor at Cornell University's S.C. Johnson College of Business. Lyaukonite said. “Brands are adapting by meeting their audiences where they are, increasingly meeting their audiences online and on mobile devices.”
