In recent years, the Super Bowl has become the most watched television event in the United States.  It combines the drama of American football with the best of entertainment and celebration with friends before, during and after the game.
Commercial time brings laughs, smiles, and excitement during the Super Bowl. An integral part of the event is the tradition of advertisements that entice viewers to stay on the couch during breaks from the game. Mass retailers like Budweiser and PepsiCo have been known to release very creative advertisements that differ each year.
“My favorite commercials are the Pepsi commercials because it doesn’t seem like they are trying hard to be funny. They are just so creative and hilarious,” Convent of the Sacred Heart junior Emily Casper said.
Advertisements from this year proved to be no less memorable. Budweiser’s advertisement, featuring the friendship between a Clydesdale horse and a puppy set to the track “Let Her Go” by Passenger, made audiences swoon.

Advertisers seek to have their brands connect with and engage their consumers. Getting the consumers to speak about the brand is critical. It drives them to buy more.
Over the last seven years, Doritos created its “Crash the SuperBowl” competition, asking consumers to create their own advertisements, on which other consumers would then vote. The winner receives 1 million dollars as well as the opportunity to work with star filmmakers such as Michael Bay, who directed Transformers. Last year, the winner created an advertisement titled “Goat for Sale,” which featured a goat who loved Doritos so much, he terrorized his owners for Doritos. This year’s winner, “Time Machine,” played to a theme that people love and remember: precocious children and their pets who enjoy Doritos “for the bold.” 

“I also enjoy the fan-created ads. Doritos has been running a competition for the past eight years to promote consumer ads. I like the idea that the average person can create a video that reaches such a wide audience.” Mrs. Ellyn Stewart, Broadcast Journalism Studio Director and Broadcast Journalism Teacher, said.
“Doritos’ purpose is to serve the ‘Young and Hungry’ generation,” Ann Mukherjee, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Frito-Lay North America said. “Our customers are people who are young and people who want to feel young again.”
This year, Doritos partnered with Pepsi and Budweiser to form what is known as the “Power of Three,” a marketing plan for three pinnacle items in Super Bowl food merchandise.
“The idea behind the Power of Three was to look at what people bought the most from supermarkets for the Super Bowl. The top six items were tortilla chips, pretzels, salsa, cheese dip, soft drinks and beer. So we said, ‘Wow, we make five of the six of these items. Why not combine with Budweiser and sell all six?'” Mukherjee said.
Pepsi sponsored this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, featuring Bruno Mars and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. PepsiCo uses advertising strategies, from project sponsorship to consumer engagement, to blend the company’s culture and heritage with what its customers want.  Last year, Lays introduced “Do Us A Flavor” on Facebook, an innovative way to bring customers to create their own flavors. The winners were Cheesy Garlic Bread, Sriracha, and Chicken and Waffles.
“I was at Kraft for 11 years, but coming to Frito-Lay has kept me on my toes. The advertising department at Frito-Lay is a perpetual learning center,” Mukherjee said.
Planning for these advertisements begins up to two years prior. Projects for 2015 have already begun.
“First we need to find out what’s in the marketplace, what’s happening in the world that we need to focus our attention on. Then, the agencies will come in with strategy briefings,” Mukherjee said. “We sort of test the market and see how it would affect people, we use mathematical models to see the proposed financial impact. The ads themselves can take between 6 weeks to 3 months to create depending on the ad.”
-Mo Narasimhan, Staff Writer