When It Comes To The Customer Journey, This Year’s Super Bowl Commercials Prove That Customers Want Someone–Or Something–They Can Relate To

Just as much as we watch for the football and halftime shows, Americans also watch the Super Bowl for its commercials. Those seconds-long time slots set the tone for consumer buying, product branding–and customer service expectations–early on in a new year. And this year, it’s clear that companies have been listening to customer feedback beyond what they might share in a post-call survey or email. Despite the array of brands that were featured in last night’s broadcast, a common theme united many commercials: familiarity.

• Ben Affleck’s long-awaited Dunkin’ debut 
• Cash back shopping à la Clueless
• Golden arches Offset by Cardi B
• Pepsi with a side of Blue Steel
• Bud Light beer to soothe the unrelenting pain of a hold tone

Each of these advertisements paired a product that’s currently on the market with a person or concept that customers have wanted to see, wished they saw, or missed seeing on their screens. The internet is consistently awash with calls for branding collaborations or for actors to reprise the roles that made them icons, and there’s no better–or bigger–opportunity to answer those calls than during the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl Is A Super Opportunity To Connect With Customers

Chances are that whether you’re already a loyal Dunkin’ customer, you never eat McDonald’s, or it’s your first time hearing the name Rakuten, your feed has been flooded with Ben Affleck memes, Cardi B is at the top of your playlists and you’ve seen Clueless countless times. Whether or not a product featured in a Super Bowl ad is new to you personally, it already feels familiar with the presence of a beloved movie character or a nod to one of your favorite celebrity couples. These feelings of familiarity bring comfort, contribute to trust building, and even make a situation that is out of the ordinary for one person relatable to another. We might not all be millionaire actors, but we can all relate to the feeling of carrying too many bags and dropping a hot coffee.

Those moments not only make for a funny commercial, but they also make for connection building between customers and brands. Customers want a customized journey that feels personal to them, and that journey doesn't just begin when they log onto a website or make a phone call. It starts well beforehand, and for some customers that journey begins at the Super Bowl.

The universality of pop culture combined with products that have every day use make for a widespread familiarity. Finally seeing Ben make his Dunkin’ cameo, or knowing that Cardi B and Offset are just another couple who have memorized their partner’s go-to McDonald meal, creates a meaningful connection as potential customers watch those moments unfold on television. Seeing Zoolander, Cher Horowitz or Goose’s son Rooster onscreen might have a particularly nostalgic meaning to a potential buyer watching their favorite characters cameo on the night of the big game. Before Sunday audiences could have felt no personal connection to the brands highlighted in Super Bowl commercials, but now they may have a reason to feel that synergy with a particular company. 

Post-Game, The Customer Journey Is Just Beginning

Customers will remember those funny, endearing moments from Super Bowl LVII and then look forward to making their own, whether it's while at the drive-thru grabbing coffee or at home while on hold. And when they’re ready to make those memories, the brands they saw in between quarters will be front of mind. Commercials are an opportunity for brands to reshape their image, reintroduce themselves and reach new audiences by showing the value that using their products can bring to their lives.

Brands like Pepsi, McDonalds and Dunkin’ are central to road trips, first dates, and other life moments that are invaluable when compared with the price of placing an order. Those identifiable moments are what brands are working to demonstrate to buyers: it’s not just their product that’s worth it, but the personalized experience that each customer will have as a result of their purchase.

While the ability of brands to demonstrate a shared value with customers is key and certainly helpful in terms of advertising during the Super Bowl, displaying those values in customer interactions is how companies will be able to retract, retain and keep customers central to their operations. 

Photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash