Today's first Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post comes from Libby Issendorf who brings us a post-game installment of "Our Side of the Screen" where she takes a look at the youth targeted ads that aired during the Super Bowl. Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment!

Our Side Of The Screen: Super Bowl Edition

A reported 95.5 million (Update: 98.7 million) people tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLIII, and several million of those viewers were teens and twentysomethings. Although most marketers rightly targeted an older demographic in their big game spots, I wanted to share my Gen Y perspective of the hits and misses for some teen-targeted brands:

Both Coca-Cola's ads, Avatar and Heist, were visually remarkable but didn't give me the usual feel-good payoff that I got from The Coke Side of Life spots like Ringtone (my all time favorite ad, by the way). The Super Bowl spots from that campaign also resonated a lot more with me (It's Mine in 2008 and Happiness Factory in 2007). Hopefully the Open Happiness campaign just needs more time to develop.

On the other side of the cola wars, I loved the art direction of Pepsi's Refresh Anthem. Classic '60s images refreshed in 2009 style was a perfect way give life to Pepsi's new Refresh Everything campaign. I've re-watched it several times on YouTube because the juxtapositions of pictures and music is so perfect and fun. However, I think it might be slightly off-brand for Pepsi. If not for the new blue logo at the end, I would have pegged this as a feel-good Coke spot like I mentioned above. Coke also has a longer, richer brand history than Pepsi, so the nostalgia suits it better. Pepsuber had me laughing out loud, but some of my friends didn't realize that the MacGruber character was from SNL. The ad kept with Pepsi's brand promise of being in touch with pop culture (albeit my dad's pop culture–but hey, it's the Super Bowl) and "refreshing" everything.

The first Doritos ad, Free Doritos, was created by Indiana brothers Joe & Dave Herbert. They blew the professionals out of the water by delivering exactly what a Super Bowl spot should be–simple laugh out loud humor with an unmistakeable product tie. No one is going to accidentally credit this spot to Bud Light or Cars.com. I thought the crotch shot at the end was overkill, but I still put this ad at the top of my list. I wasn't thrilled by the other Doritos ad, Power of the Crunch. As one friend put it, "I don't know if I would eat Doritos on the street if they sexually assaulted random women." Its gimmick was more forced and drawn out than the first spot.

G (the sports drink formerly known as Gatorade) defined itself with What G Means. The testimonials were interesting, but spots in the Super Bowl that didn't draw big smiles or big laughs seemed to get lost in the clutter. In any other broadcast I would have loved it, but on Sunday night it felt a little blah.

Finally, SoBe's 3D SoBelieve probably wins for having the biggest anticipation (get your 3D glasses on!) and being watched most intently. The 3D elements were fine, but I didn't really enjoy the spot. It didn't have the charm of Refresh Everything, the slapstick laughs of Free Doritos, or even the aesthetic appeal of Heist. I wish they had taken advantage of their 3D to do something more engaging or cooler than having a lizard throw a ball at me.

Noteworthy non-teen-targeted spots included Miller High Life's 1-second ad, Monster.com's Moose Butt, Hulu.com (though teens use Hulu, Alec Baldwin makes me think this was targeted older), and both beautiful GE ads (see them all on AdAge). With most Super Bowl advertisers talking to men at least 25 years old, some teens may have felt a little alienated during the commercial breaks. But the fourth quarter was definitely thrilling for viewers of all ages!

Editor's Note: Look for a Ypulse vlog later this week from YAB member Alyx on all of the teen-targeted movie trailers that aired during the game!

For more coverage of youth marketing, check out the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection.

About Libby Issendorf

After growing up on a farm in North Dakota, Libby Issendorf moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota. She discovered her passion for brands and media as a member of her school’s first-place National Student Advertising Competition team. After graduation in 2008, she began her career as a media analyst at an advertising agency. Libby works on media placement and targeting for national brands like General Mills and Land O Lakes. Outside of work, she loves blogging, playing sports, consuming gratuitous amounts of pop culture, the Minnesota Twins, being really geeky with her iPhone, and driving to see her boyfriend, who lives too far away.

Categorized under: TV, Youth Advisory Board, Youth Marketing

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. If you are a Facebook user, comment using your Facebook account.