Go Packers. Go Steelers. Go Daddy.

They say the big game is now the big show. More eyeballs watching the tube, more clicks on websites, more pizzas being ordered, more chips being dipped. To this Broadway loving ad guy, the Super Bowl has also become the Great White Way of advertising. Just like the game being played on the field, there are winners and losers off the field as well. Here is my take on some of the ads and some lessons they each provide:

Previous Super Bowl Winners:

Apple “1984”

This was the shot heard around the world. It was the breaking point when commercials hit prime time and became as important as the game itself. It was bold and powerful statement. While others in the ad business will speak of Ridley Scott, the great cinematography, the iconic representation of the Orwell book and such, I respect it for two reasons. The basic reason is that it translated into over a billion dollars of sales volume. More, it opened up a new segment of the industry, gave birth to the creative class and paved a way for Apple to be the most successful brand and retailer of our time – selling more sales per square foot than any retailer ever thought possible. What you may not know is that consumers hated the spot in pre-testing. After trying to sell off the space before the game, Apple trusted their instincts and history was made. Lesson? Trust your gut.

Google “Paris”

Last years’ spot was a perfect, emotionally crafted story about how relevant Google is in our daily lives. It was the spot that made people realize Google is not just a noun, but can also be used as a verb. I applaud them for not just talking about the features and benefits of the company, but rather depicted how important it is as consumers/shoppers in our society. Lesson? Become vital. Position yourself not just as something nice to have, but rather a need to have and the value will always take care of itself.

Previous Super Bowl losers:

Denny’s “Free Breakfast”

Some say the spot was funny. Maybe it was, but who cares? Most say that it drove an unprecedented amount of people into Denny’s. Maybe so, but who cares if the company could not operationalize the brand? What happened was that the actual restaurants were not able to handle the traffic and ran out of product. The good deed went punished, as the very same people who they motivated to go to Denny’s are the same people (because of a negative experience) that will never come back. So, it turned into a huge investment with little chance of return visitation. Lesson? ROI must be your friend, as Denny’s has already learned- they pulled out this year.

Lions, Tigers, Frogs, Lizards, Hamsters, oh my!

Most every single take on cute animals have historically served little purpose beyond driving awareness. I have news for you; you can pick up the business section of the paper and see companies with high awareness going out of business. The reality is that – because of that awareness – everybody knows, but nobody really cares. Lesson? Cash never lies.

All this attention calls for greater responsibility. The downside of the bright lights and big stage is that many abuse the moment with irresponsible acts. The ad business often likes to forget that we are in business to help clients sell things. The more they sell, the more they make and in turn, the more agencies get to grow. Reckless spending is one of the main reasons so many don’t stay around too long and the trust rating of our industry remains so low. Yet, on any blank sheet of paper, your ad could be the ad other ads smell like. Make the most of it.

Enjoy the show.

Don’t Yuck My Yum.

The clock struck 1/1/11.

What more evidence do we need that the way we live our lives gets to start over? We face fresh slates and new windows. In an instant, all of last year’s excuses related to the economy, lack of time, family pressure and “I’ll get to it later” are no longer valid. We have a somewhat blind sense of optimism and we begin living anew. All that said, unless you made the hard decisions to drive change for your life, nothing will really change. The pressure will soon mount, the weight will soon be gained, the time will soon evaporate, the money will soon be spent and the excuses will soon appear.

One of the most pressing issues is living the life one truly wants to live. To be someone who gets more from life through giving and to be the busy person who somehow finds the time to check more things off the wish list. We all seem to realize this, but lose the will to make a difference down the road. What holds us back from giving, doing, caring and being all we can be? Why does it take a resolution to get us going? With such procrastination, it’s no wonder our dreams take so long to become reality.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We should expect more. Why not start today? I am going to – and choose to use this forum to ask for accountability partners to help me along the way.

I am going to lose weight. Not the lose for half the year and gain back the other half. The lasting kind. I’m tired of stretchy pants and want to live as long as I can with the people I love.

I am going to be more present. I want to fully appreciate the blessings we have and always have the perspective to realize they are blessings.

I am going to live “off-line” more. Digital connectivity drives personal disconnection too often. I will be more aware of that (though still respond when Jordan calls!)

I am going to eliminate “should haves”. I intend to live even more as the role model I wish my kids to see me as, which is earned and not just gifted.

I am going to help the world move forward. There may be some big steps and some small steps, but no wasted steps.

I am going to not let anyone “yuck my yum.” I will have the will and attitude to make sure 2011 is the most prosperous year yet – in all senses of the word.

Happy New Year to all. I wish for you a fresh start on all you wish to be.

Trust Me. Trust Me Not.

In this day and age, nobody knows whom to trust. This is a sad state of affairs. Sadder still, they have reason.

Everything in life seems to have a catch. We pay a reduced price for our plane ticket, but an increased price for our bags? We sign up for free checking, but then get an invoice for the checks. We say goodbye to Blockbuster late fees only to say hello to restocking fees. We sign up for unlimited text plans only to get texts to say we are over our limits. The reality is that we live in a nickel and dime society filled with gimmicks and gotchas and lost leaders.

Society is hard wired for the negative narrative. For every voice, there is a flow of opposing voices that are 99x as strong. We love a good train wreck, celebrity breakdown or rehab admission. We say we are searching for purpose, but our minds are entranced with the likes of Ponzi schemes, financial bailouts and the like. We look at people like Bernie Madoff, Osama Bin Laden and even George W. through a paparazzi’s lens as if they were the newest movie villains that get far more press than the superheroes that are supposed to protect us (admit it – Madoff does look a bit like a modern day Penguin!)

It all makes sense actually. We’ve been burned. We’ve seen behind the curtain. We are constantly reminded of the problems that diminish our need for hope. Just look how fast the mighty Obama train came off the tracks. He was hired by our hearts and emotions, but will soon get fired by our brutal swords and the reality that solving problems is harder than just saying “Yes We Can!” Once we see a cloud of darkness, the natural reaction is to gain validation of the dark instead of information to protect the light.

As a brand marketer, it is easy to say we should just steer our clients to relevant, meaningful and believable platforms. Meaning, we should make sure our brands tell the absolute truth and that, in doing so, people will have reason to trust them. In our complex society of self-publishing, the truth no longer sets us free because consumers can adopt and edit their own version of the truth. As we continue to guide our brands, we should be careful in making sure the promise is plausible (not overselling or being too extreme) and that facts should always be balanced with emotion to give people a reason to feel better.

Success lies not about what you say, but rather what they choose to hear. You can trust me on that.

Have we lost our purpose?

If you were in the audience of the recent ANA meeting (Association of National Advertisers), you heard almost every speaker discuss their quest for brand purpose. That is, the important shift that brands are being valued on not just what they sell, but more on what they stand for. If you would have glanced over at my conference notes, you would have seen the following:

“Are we getting far too soft in a very hard world?”

Don’t get me wrong, I embrace the notion that brands want to have better souls planted in richer soil and that Coca-Cola still wants to teach the world to sing and that Tom’s shoes are now available in most any Whole Foods next to organic bananas. I just believe that the “give back” initiatives should be part of an overall business charter because it is the right thing to do – rather than pushed in the face of consumers as part of the marketing initiative because it is what we hear consumers want. It smells of being disingenuous and that would not be the right purpose at all.

More, as brands are all chasing similar soft ground, many are losing their hard edges of differentiation on what makes one brand truly more special from another. Do guys really want Old Spice to help them navigate the seas of manhood or to help them not stink? (or so they can smell like the man their woman wishes he smelled like?) Do women like that Bounty picks up the pieces of broken families more than they care about it’s ability to pick up spills quicker than other towels? I think not. Personally, I like that Tide washes Loads of Hope, but I hope more it’s able to wash loads of my dirty socks.

A brand’s real purpose is to make money and grow share. There are too many brands so wrapped up in worrying about their social equity that they have lost focus on their financial equity. That is misappropriated business energy. If they build successful brands, they will have enough money to do so many wonderful things as a company. I see my job as helping a company drive revenue growth. What they do with that money is their good fortune and a great problem to have.

Hanging boldly on the wall of my office is not a picture of the Cannes shoreline. Instead, there are just three short sentences:
“Do good work. Earn fair money. Do amazing things with the money you earn.”

That is purpose enough for me.