SCC Blog

A SUPER Lesson Plan!

Ahhhh, yes.  It is that time of the year again.  You know, the time of the year when corporate America flings millions of dollars in the direction of the NFL and its broadcast affiliates.  The time of the year when the creative minds of the ad agencies are truly put to the test.  The time of the year where new products are introduced, new brand campaigns launched and new companies attempt to establish a presence on the radar of consumer America.

This is also the time of the year where Monday morning quarterbacks prosper, placing each and every Super Bowl ad under the microscope and formulating opinions on the marketing “winners” and “losers”, despite the outcome of the game.  When Monday morning rolls around, you can be certain that everyone will be considering themselves marketing experts. 

Throughout the years, a few things remain constant on football’s grand stage.  One team will win, one team will lose.  Some companies will earn their place in eternal marketing lore (see Coke and Mean Joe Greene in 1979 or the Budweiser frogs in 1993).  Others will surely flop (see Apple’s “lemmings” ad from 1985).  Cross promotion will surely rear its head in some form (see Tommy Petty headlining the half-time show) and millions of people world-wide are going to tune in to take it all in while consuming millions of pounds of snack foods and various beverages.

While the size and scope of the Super Bowl have grown exponentially over the years, the essence of its platform for advertising has not.  The stakes have clearly gotten higher with a sharp increase in corporate risk while the potential reward is decidedly still there for many companies and their brands.

As you and your class entertain discussions surrounding the Super Bowl this week and next, make sure you you ask students to thoroughly investigate the cause and effect of the advertising concept.  Ask them to consider how Eli Manning’s presence on the grand stage could catapult his stature as corporate pitchman.  Is it feasible to suspect he could soon join the ranks of his brother Peyton as one of the true endorsement icons of today’s era?  Encourage students to think about the economic impact the NFL’s main event has on the city of Phoenix.  Use this week to infuse some current events into the classroom.  Ask your class to analyze the Super Bowl display in the local grocery store and discuss the impact the game has on sales for the store.  Discuss demographics, target markets, event marketing, distribution and sales.  In short, the Super Bowl provides a great way to teach business and marketing concepts in an exciting and fun environment.  Enjoy the next two weeks and hopefully you find ways to incorporate the Super Bowl into your lesson planning!

Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Media, Promotions |

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