Eye of the Viewer: Championship Advertising
In this year’s Super Bowl, who came out on top? Was it the Giants? Or was it the company with the best ad? These distinctions are beginning to blur as America’s game meshes with marketing to form one of the largest moneymaking events in our culture. Some of Juniata’s students and faculty comment on not only their all time favorite, but also whether or not the ads are worth the investment.
Donny Carpenter '10, Hesston, Pa.: "No, I don’t. My parents don’t like football at all, but they watch the game simply because of the hype about the commercials."
"My favorite is where they try and coax a man to jump out of an airplane with a case of beer, but instead, the pilot runs from the cockpit and jumps out after the case without a parachute."
John O'Donnell '10, Coalport, Pa.: "To me, the commercials are not to promote anything new, because the only people that are going to be able to pay for air time are already established corporations, therefore I think they are based on entertainment, not on functionality."
"The best? The cat herders, I don’t know when or where it happened, but all I remember are these cowboys herding cats. I laughed"
President Kepple: "They probably are (overrated), but companies seem to think they work, or they wouldn’t pay for them."
"Mine is the “1984” Apple Computers commercial."
William Dickey, instructor in English: "From a business standpoint, I have to say "no." From a consumer's point of view, they are "overrated" because the purpose of an advertisement is simply to inform the public about goods for sale, which, in my opinion is not worth the exorbitant amount of money that goes into the production and purchase of air time for the Super Bowl."
"My favorite Super Bowl commercial of all time has to be the Coke commercial featuring "Mean" Joe Greene from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who trades a young boy his jersey for a Coke."
Randy Rosenberger, associate professor of management: "No. The Super Bowl commercials have become a phenomenon. Some people pay more attention to them than to the game. It’s a great way for advertisers to reach their audiences. That’s what commercials are for, right?"
"My favorite is the “Late Night” commercial with David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey."
- Christopher Bender '10, Juniata online journalist