January 2004

USC class rates ads; declares Staples the winner of the 2004 Super Bowl of Advertising

The Patriots weren’t the only Super Bowl winners. Staples also was a big winner in Sunday’s Super Bowl commercials, as a team of nearly 50 University of South Carolina students analyzed them on three criteria: persuasiveness, brand identity, and likeability.

Staples, a newcomer to the Super Bowl, got the highest total score. The Staples commercial features Randy, a power-hungry office supplies manager who forces employees to give him cookies, donuts and muffins in exchange for paper, computer disks and ink cartridges. Finally, a frustrated employee, played by Joe Viterelli, goes to Staples and threatens to shut down Randy’s operation. The Staples commercial got a score of 4.4 out of a possible 5 points.

Coming in second was Budweiser’s donkey spot, with a score of 4.3. This ad featured a donkey with dreams of becoming a Clydesdale, the beer company's signature brand identity. "Who wouldn't like the triumph of the little guy finally achieving his dream?" said Meghan Hughes, 19, a freshman public relations major.

Pepsi’s Hendrix spot came in third with a score of 4.2.

Students who are taking an Honors College advertising class this semester participated in the instant rating of the commercials on the three criteria. Professor Bonnie Drewniany, who teaches advertising at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, said it is important to look at all three variables. “Most advertising polls are really a popularity contest. The commercial that gets the most laughs usually wins,” Drewniany said. “It’s great to have people like your ad, but if you’re spending $2.3 million for airtime plus a small fortune on production, you better get some results. After all, advertisers are in the persuasion business, not the entertainment business.”

Drewniany pointed to the Pets.com commercial from 2000 as an example of a commercial that people loved but that did not produce results. “The singing sock puppet was adorable and I’d even bet a number of viewers remembered the brand because the puppet sang into a microphone emblazoned with the Pets.com logo. The problem was persuasion - the puppet failed to convince viewers that they should order pets supplies online. One year later the company was out of business.”

Brand identity is also extremely important, Drewniany said. “Remember the cola wars from a few years ago? The commercials were entertaining and some of the spots may have convinced you that you wanted a soft drink. However, many viewers couldn’t tell you if they saw a Pepsi or Coca-Cola spot.”

Drewniany didn’t discount the importance of likeability. “Viewers have come to expect great commercials during the Super Bowl. You can’t put them to sleep and expect to sell your product.” She added, “Advertisers should strive for all three criteria - likeability, brand identity, and persuasiveness - in every commercial, whether it airs on the Super Bowl or on late night TV.”

“We’re excited about doing this multi-dimensional analysis of the commercials. It tells us much more than just looking at how well people like each commercial,” said Dr. Augie Grant, professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

The Super Bowl advertising party is part of an Honors College course, “Super Bowl Commercials: 1984 to 2004.” Each week students analyze commercials on topics ranging from how well they reflect diversity to how they use humor, animals and celebrities. “We look for creative outlets such as this one for our students. And it helps to have creative faculty who can give them such unique experiences,” said Dr. Peter Sederberg, dean of the South Carolina Honors College, who joined the students at the party.

In addition to Drewniany, Grant and Sederberg, others attending the Super Bowl party were Charles Bierbauer, dean of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, Dr. Shirley Staples Carter, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as other faculty and staff members.

The party was held in Newsplex, the convergent multimedia center that is jointly operated by the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies and Ifra, a German-based consortium of news publishers and news technology vendors. It is housed at the South Carolina ETV studios. “It’s exciting to have such an enthusiastic group of media analysts in Newsplex,” said Julie Nichols, projects director at Newsplex.