As marketers continue to debate the benefit of mass advertising, we find ourselves asking each year if $5 million of Super Bowl advertising is really worth it for awareness alone.
Snickers circumvented the issue by using their Marilyn Monroe-themed “you’re not you when you’re hungry” spot as an entry into additional content – positioning their expensive ad buy as the start of a story and the invitation to engage rather than a standalone play for reach. The initial spot was followed up with an extension to the storyline that aired during “The Late Show” directly after the Super Bowl, and even more bonus content is housed on the brand’s YouTube channel. Snickers’ approach offers a good model for using mass media as a conversation starter, and we should expect to see these boundaries pushed and stretched in the future.