Super Bowl Aftermath – The Best Tire Ever?

With the SuperBowl now a few days behind us, the buzz in the advertising industry is focused on who “won” the battle of the Super Bowl Ads.

On surprising entrant into the fray was a pair of ads from Bridgestone tires.

In case you didn’t see them:

The first Bridgestone Ad is here…

The second is here…

Funny stuff for sure. I laughed out loud at the second one.

But was it worth the $2.7 million it cost Bridgestone to run these two ads on TV’s biggest day?

They certainly received plently of exposure – Sunday’s game was the most watched SuperBowl ever. And these days, the ads get all kinds of buzz and YouTube hits in the days that follow the big game.

But….I am no closer to buying Bridgestone tires today after seeing these ads. Sure, the tires have great traction, but that’s been a common angle in tire ads for years.

Come to think of it, I don’t know what brand of tires I have on my cars right now. Do you?

Buying “exposure” isn’t the right approach for every brand. Bud buys exposure, but their brand and their category relies on constant reminders of the superiority of the Budweiser name. It’s an essential part of their brand identity. They are a good fit with the mass audience that a Super Bowl attracts.

Outside of Goodyear, I don’t think many other tire companies have established a strong brand identity. And I’m not sure two (funny) ads about traction and Richard Simmons are going to change that.

When the buzz settles, perhaps Bridgestone will wish they’d run a trade promotion instead.