Super Bowl Advertising Preview for 2017

National advertisers are already releasing their Super Bowl ads for 2017, hoping for viral sharing that will boost the brands and, with luck, encourage buying too.

• Like funny ads? Watch Melissa McCarthy in her Kia ad, teaser already up on YouTube and elsewhere.
• Like the Patriots? Tom Brady stars in an Intel ad (the ad was up even before Brady knew for sure he was back in the Super Bowl).
• Like music? Pepsi sponsors the halftime show, and its ad featuring Lady Gaga is, well, musical. 
• Like quirky feel-good ads? Skittles has one for you this year.
• Like something new? Mars (which is behind the Skittles ad) will shoot a Snickers commercial live, during the Super Bowl, which has (surprisingly) never been done. Well, it's a bit risky, maybe that's why this is a first. To attract attention, Mars will do a 36-hour livestream branded entertainment show (view at Snickerslive.com) leading up to the game. 

And Yellow Tail wine has stitched together a series of coast-to-coast local ad buys to showcase its Australian wines. Locked out of national because of category-specific Anheuser-Busch InBev's exclusive Super Bowl commitment with Fox, which is televising the big game, Yellow Tail went the local route and will be seen during the game, just like any other big advertiser (except aired locally). The reach and the exposure, just not the "official" advertiser.

Marketing Gets Spooky

Southwest Airlines has a seasonal promo on its Web site right now, featuring "haunted hotels." The headline, as you can see below, reads: "Visit some of the most Spooktacular hotels in the U.S."

Given Southwest's reputation for tongue-in-cheek marketing, this fits right in with the brand image and just might give vacationers the push they need to click and reserve before the Halloween season is over.

Candy manufacturers, of course, are in their glory with the big trick-or-treat season coming to a peak very soon. Price promotions are rampant, but some marketers are getting into the Halloween spirit with themed commercials. Here's a link to the latest Halloween commercial for Snickers. Will it give buyers the frights or make them run to the store for a big bag of Snickers?