A not-so-super Bowl Ad
This week the U.S. is gearing up for one of their biggest sporting events of the year – the Super Bowl football championship game to be held Sunday. The actual sporting event is, naturally, accompanied by a media and advertising blitz. This years’ advertising included an example of how crowdsourcing, improperly executed, can go wrong. It started with the annual contest run by PepsiCo and Frito Lay encouraging fans to make a Super Bowl ad featuring Pepsi and Doritos products.
One of the submissions created some tension between the brand and the Catholic Church who believed the ad mocked the Holy Eucharist.
The ad, which is no longer publically available, featured a pastor who is losing his flock, so he prays and hears the sound of crunching and soda pouring. “Got it,” he answers. The next shot shows dozens of people of various denominations at the church lined up to get Doritos and Pepsi Max.
A number of Catholic groups interpreted the video as endorsing the replacement of communion wafers and wine with Pepsi and Doritos and petitioned to get it removed. PepsiCo issued an apology and was sure to point out that the video was one of 5,600 and was not in any way created by either brand.
The rest of the ads were vetted down to 10 finalists. Six winners will be shown during the game and will split a $5 million prize purse.
The Super Bowl has historically been known for showcasing innovative ads – ever since the debut of the Apple Macintosh computer in 1984. Over the past decade, on-line businesses have been visible, including GoDaddy’s controversial, risqué ads.
This year is no exception with both Groupon and LivingSocial, rival group-purchasing sites, having each purchased ad time connected to the game. Groupon snagged a last-minute slot during the game, while LivingSocial’s ad is relegated to the pre-game shows.
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