This is not a Top Super Bowl Ads post! Instead, our team analyzed three of our favorite ads from Super Bowl XVIII (i.e., 58).
TGG is a team of courageous catalysts for positive change. We are battle-tested brand strategists, purposeful innovators, and agile lean researchers. With that, we believe knowing consumer Jobs to be Done (or what consumers are ultimately trying to accomplish) is the starting point for building winning brand strategies, transformational new products, and marketing campaigns that resonate with consumers.
Through that lens, we selected three Super Bowl commercials that were not only emotionally compelling, but also strategically sound. Here they are, not in any order of importance.
We picked three ads. One is anchored in brand strategy. Another is about new product innovation. The third is about capitalizing on rich insight to drive brand expansion. We highlight why we like the ad, the core Job to be Done, and what our TGG team has to say.
Morgan Stanley and eTrade dropped a winner. The babies are back and on trend. This time, the Etrade babies are playing pickleball, the wildly popular sport.
We love this ad. It’s funny. It’s on trend. Most importantly: It’s built on the consumer Job of making investing easy. Investing is one of those age old challenges that many people find to be difficult. In the ad, the Etrade babies make beating the adults in pickleball easy. This pays off the idea that investing with Etrade is so easy even a baby can do it. Plus, the babies help to communicate the importance of investing early, indicating the delivery on another critical Job – “Help me build enough wealth to retire someday”. To do this, we have to start early.
“I loved the e-trade commercial, they entered a relevant/on-trend conversation then deployed their brand equity with the e-trade babies to drive home the key communication point of difference of making investing easy. In a year where so many ads seemed to try a little too hard, e-trade communicated what they needed to, did it authentically, and made us laugh. Simplicity wins with this one!” – Mourad David, TGG Associate
Dunkin’ made a courageous move in their rebrand a few years ago. Their 2024 Super Bowl ad continued along the bold path. With increased competition from the likes of Starbucks, Einstein Bagels, and others, Dunkin’ needs to stand out. Their 2024 Super Bowl ad did the trick!
The ad was the second of a two part series that debuted at the Grammy’s a week earlier. It built upon Dunkin’s 2023 Super Bowl ad. Ben Affleck, J. Lo, Matt Damon, and Tom Brady anchored the commercial, which takes a comedic approach to the launch of a new breakfast lineup. At the end of the spot Ben Affleck says, “Chill, they’re naming a drink after us.”
Which brings us to the Jobs. At the highest level, Dunkin’ is solving the Job – “Help make breakfast easy.” They do this in two ways: offering a dedicated DunKing Menu if you download the app, and introducing The DunKings Iced Coffee and MUNCHKINS® Skewer. More specifically, the drink addresses the Job – “Give me easily accessible energy.”
“I love that Dunkin’ is pushing into new territories. This campaign is cool because they are launching more than a new drink. They are launching a menu and surrounding it with lifestyle products too. Dunkin’ did it with great storytelling and good use of celebrities, which some brands swung and missed at this year.” – Paul Fisher, TGG Sales & Marketing Director
Dove built upon its “Campaign for Real Beauty” in the Hard Knocks ad. We liked this ad because the consumer insight likely resonates with many people, not only the core target of girls.
The ad’s message is that girls self-select out of sports because of low body confidence. It isn’t because of the physical nature of sports. Girls can take the physicality of falls, hits, smacks, and more. But, 45% of girls drop out of sports due to low confidence.
The Job in this case might be, “Give me the confidence to tackle hard things.” Dove then applies it to girls, for good reason. Girls are more likely to experience this. Nonetheless, our team wondered if the message could be applicable to all genders as well. We discussed how everyone can experience anxiety around their own bodies. Thus, the ad resonated.
“The moment the young woman is looking in the mirror, assessing herself in her swimsuit is something everyone can relate to at one time or another. We can all feel the emotion she likely is experiencing.” – Clare Brophy, TGG Director
Super Bowl 2024 was a rare occasion in which the game and the commercials were fun. Not all of these ads made the top 10 in the USA Today Ad Meter. The three we highlighted clearly articulated a consumer Job to be Done in a compelling way, with resonant messaging.
Need a strategic partner to help tackle a high priority brand challenge? Let’s connect! Send us a note at marketing@thegaragegroup.com.
The Garage Group is a battle-tested Lean Innovation and Growth Strategy Firm on a mission to unlock courage in leaders required to keep their existing B2B & B2C portfolios relevant and growing in the face of uncertainty. Our team has 14 years of compounded learning, rolling up our sleeves alongside corporate leaders at BigCos like Kimberly-Clark and Northwestern Mutual to tackle tough innovation and growth challenges through a series of ongoing Lean Workstreams.
In a post COVID-era, forward-thinking leaders are hiring us to build Jobs to be Done-based brand, portfolio, and category architectures; to lead consumer-first Innovation Pipeline Sprints with rapid-fire infusions of iterative stakeholder learning; and to hack traditional research methods, replacing them with a series of agile Learning Loops to build conviction and support for new ideas.
