Super Bowl Round-Up: Carnival Takes the Plunge, Doritos Ready to Crash

That’s right, it’s time to get ready for some football once again! The big game in Glendale, AZ is coming Sunday, Feb. 1, and Super Bowl XLIX promises to be an enormous opportunity for marketers looking to deliver their message to the year’s biggest TV audience (as well as those attending the game).

Each week leading up to the big game, editors at Chief Marketer will be providing readers with a round-up of how marketers are approaching Super Bowl strategies, what brands have up their sleeves for those precious Super Bowl TV ads and which spots promise to make the biggest splash with viewers on Feb. 1.

Here’s a look at what’s brewing in the marketing world with Super Bowl XLIX just over three weeks away:

• Skift.com reports that Carnival cruise lines will be taking the plunge into Super Bowl advertising for the first time in 2015, as part of its latest marketing initiative that will promote all nine of its cruise brands across TV, social and digital platforms. The brand is engaging customers in a very cool way, as well, by giving them the opportunity to pick the ad that will run during the game from four it has produced, tied to a giveaway of a lifetime of annual cruise trips.
• Pepsico’s Doritos brand is joining in the Super Bowl contest fun with its “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign. This MarketWatch story reports that 10 finalists in the contest have been announced, and they will be competing for Super Bowl XLIX airtime, a shot at a $1 million grand prize and Universal Pictures dream job. Two ads created by the finalists will run during the game and the one voted most popular by viewers will take home the big prize.
• USA Today is reporting that most of the Super Bowl ad slots have already been sold, and that more details on the year’s most-watched commercials will be unveiled in the weeks ahead. At $4.5 million per 30-second slot, these slots are valuable real estate for marketers who want to reach the year’s largest TV audience. Expect to see lots of celebrity cameos and ads from newcomers including Carnival (see above), Loctite, Mophie and Wix.com.
• Big Super Bowl parties are being planned by brands surrounding the big game in Arizona, as well. Rolling Stone magazine is hosting a party featuring Aerosmith signer Steven Tyler, according to The Wall Street Journal blog. Miller Lite will be the Rolling Stone party’s presenting beer sponsor–a savvy move for a brand that will not be running ads during the game’s national broadcast. This will be Rolling Stone’s fourth year hosting a big party like this at the Super Bowl, and it will be held the night before the game at the Venue Scottsdale for about 1,000 guests.
• Anheuser-Busch In-Bev will be running three ads this year for its Budweiser and Bud Light brands. This MediaPost story highlights what the brand has learned from its sponsorship experiences over the past few years, and sheds some light on what viewers can expect from the always-anticipated Budweiser Super Bowl ad spots (if you like dogs and Pac-Man, you’re in luck).
• Brands are upping the ante this year in terms of social media and the Super Bowl, with some creating social media command centers and crafting posts to be sent out across their social accounts leading up to the game, according to this Adweek story. Brands will be vying for the top trending spots across social media networks, and the most successful campaigns get the conversation started long before the big game kicks off and the ads start rolling.