Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review 2014
All eyes were on the Super Bowl Sunday night at Kellogg School – at least on the ads. About 50 students packed a room to participate the 10th annual Super Bowl Advertising Review, scoring each commercial according to the ADPLAN Framework developed by Professors Tim Calkins and Derek Rucker.
The event gave participants some laughs, some groans and a new perspective:
This is a unique experience – one I knew I wanted to be a part of, even before I arrived at Kellogg. Commercials have always been my favorite part of the Super Bowl, so I was excited to look at the ads clinically with other likeminded people. I’ve always enjoyed ads for entertainment value but now I’m really looking at whether they forward the brand and if I’m going to remember the company that made them. The Ad Review is the best type of experiential learning – it’s very relevant, very real-time. This is going to carry me through to any marketing roles I have in the future.
First-half favorites: Jimmy Johns, Sonos and the Bud Light series. (It hooked me on the second ad.)
— Jordana Cohen ’15
The Super Bowl Advertising Review is one of those Kellogg traditions that’s special, unique and memorable. You have an opportunity to apply academic rigor to something you usually don’t think about in that sense. It’s also energizing to interact with other classmates that are really into this event, who plan to put their career into marketing. This year, I liked that some of the companies went the emotional route, like Cheerios and Chevrolet. For me, the ads that scored highest were the ones that captured my attention and demonstrated their product and its value. Beats with Ellen DeGeneres was smart, for example, and it showed viewers how this new service works.
First-half favorites: Cheerios, Chevrolet and Beats
— Mitch Colgan ’14
This is the perfect time of year to be a marketing enthusiast at Kellogg. We’ve had back-to-back CMO speakers, the Marketing Conference and now the Ad Review. There’s an energy and excitement to the review because it’s all happening in real time. You can discuss the commercials with your classmates, the professors and the dean, which makes it even more of a rich experience. I actually wrote about the ad review in the “Why Kellogg” essay in my application. I wanted to be a part of this, and I’m on Cloud 9. I’ve found the ads this year to be so much more emotional and sentimental. Plus, there seems to be a lot more celebrity power – from Ellen DeGeneres to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
First-half favorites: M&Ms, Volkswagen, Microsoft, Pistachios (Colbert!)
— Jasmine Lipford ’15