Story-filled Super Bowl Ads Bring Success

Super Bowl ads attract so much hype because they’re bright and flashy examples of the best modern marketing has to offer- or at least they should be, given how much companies pay for them. When one ad wipes out half of the annual advertising budget, you need to make the most of your 30 seconds in the spotlight. It seems that Super Bowl advertisers have figured out the key to this is going back to the basics: telling stories complete with exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution.

This method is effective because it makes the ads memorable to viewers. Instead of feeling like they’ve been sold a product, viewers feel like they’ve been told a story, and it sticks with them.

Chevy’s 2014 ad is a good example of this. Titled “Romance”, it tells the story of a farmer loading up his bull and hauling him across the country in his heavy duty Silverado truck. From the beginning, the ad takes a masculine tone, which isn’t terribly surprising coming from a truck commercial. It takes a playfully sexual turn once we begin to realize that the bull isn’t on any old journey; he’s actually on his way to be bred.

The ad is structured somewhat like a regular narrative story, with the exposition introducing us to the farmer and his bull, and the rising action taking us on the journey through fields and little rural cities. The climax of the story is when the bull finds himself in a field full of eligible bachelorettes- but then it stops short. We’re led to believe we know what happens, but we don’t actually see it. Then again, we probably don’t really want to.

Audi’s 2013 ad takes a youthful and masculine tone, but in a much different way. The exposition introduces us to the main character, a sweet-looking teenage boy who’s clearly dressed up for the prom. He’s not terribly excited about it because, as his little sister informs us, he’s going it alone. That’s until Dad tosses him the keys to his brand new Audi, cueing the roar of the engine and the rising action of cruising through town.

He gets to the dance and gains confidence with every step, bringing us to the climactic moment: a stolen kiss with the prom queen, in plain view of her king, who’s obviously about to do something about it. Although we don’t exactly know what transpired, Audi resolves the story anyway. A jubilant main character races back through town, a little battered but clearly happy with the choices he made.

Although I haven’t seen either company’s sales numbers following these ads, I would venture to guess that both performed well. They caught their audience’s attention, held it, and ultimately made the connection between the story and the brand. However, from a content standpoint Audi’s ad was more effective. It covered all five elements of a narrative story, which brought the audience through a full range of emotions and made it more memorable. Because Audi completed the story rather than leaving us hanging, it gave us room to identify with the main character and genuinely celebrate with him as he drove away in victory.

The moral of the story for this year’s advertisers? Half-told stories aren’t shareable. Throw it back to your high school English days, give us something with a full narrative structure, and reap the rewards.