Even Jesus Had A CTA: What Most Advertisers Missed In The Super Bowl

You know the saying, WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)? Add a clear call to action to drive conversion – is the message from this Super Bowl.

Apple gets it. Forty years ago, they changed the face of modern advertising with an ad that went to air precisely once – in Super Bowl XVIII. The “1984” commercial saw the advent of the “Big Brand Ad”, a trend that has reverberated down through the decades. This year, Apple sponsored the Half Time Show with Usher, and wrapped up the performance with a QR code pointing viewers to Apple Music. Content plus conversion. That’s the equation for success in 2024.

It was amazing to me how many Super Bowl advertisers missed the opportunity to further connect with the millions of viewers watching the big game (the biggest TV audience since the moon landing – thank you T Swift!), who were all armed with their mobile devices. This audience extended viewership into a mobile, social first generation that expects more from brands. This is a shopping, interacting generation and the platforms + technology is commonplace now. No longer new innovation. This is 2024, not 1984, and we have the tools to go beyond brand equity, and direct consumers to action – to find out more, access extra content, and even make a purchase.

One such familiar tool is the QR code. Even though crypto trading platform CoinBase broke the internet with their QR code only spot on the Super Bowl two years ago, remarkably few advertisers followed suit in the Chiefs vs 49’ers game. NYX Cosmetics featured rapper Cardi B and lingered on a QR code for the longest time, sending viewers to the full-length uncut Cardi commercial that the NFL wouldn’t run. Turbo Tax’s spot with Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson used a QR code to point to a $1 million Sweepstakes promotion. And Door Dash also activated their “Door Dash All The Ads” promo via a website and QR code.

Other advertisers, like BetMGM asked viewers to “download the app”. And even the somewhat controversial “He Gets Us” ads for Jesus had a Call To Action, publishing a website link on the final frame. That beats many of the advertisers who didn’t want to sully their masterpieces with anything but a logo. But really, URL’s in commercials have been around for 20+ years. How much easier is it to ask consumers to just point their camera at the QR code, click and connect?

Make no mistake, this is coming. A prime (no pun intended) example is Amazon, who last year streamed the first Black Friday football game, complete with QR codes to allow viewers who were Prime Members to shop right in the game. I predict that we’ll see more of that this year, in Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, and also in the playoff game that they just secured.

The NBA’s Indiana Pacers are affixing QR codes to players’ jerseys, providing fans (both in the stadium and watching the games) with access to exclusive, behind-the-scenes team content.

The modern era of marketing and commerce is all about getting closer to the customer at the point of purchase. So how about bringing that connection forward and thinking about “point of ads”? Yes, we should be building the brand, but we also need to drive people to do something – is that the ‘point!’

As I sat on the couch and cheered on the Chiefs on Sunday (full disclosure – I am a fan), I loved the humor of ads like Nerds (how cute) and Dunkin’ (what star power). And I also marveled at how much Chinese brands like Temu are infiltrating America’s big game (what deep pockets). But most of all, I lamented missed opportunities from so many ads for a deeper connection with viewers. How many of you downloaded Temu and already made a purchase?

The job ahead for marketers is to start planning now for Super Bowl 2025 and consider how to spark a two-way interaction with consumers. How can you go beyond the Bowl and beyond brand equity towards conversion – whatever form that might take for your business?

The Super Bowl has always been about creativity, but that’s cost-of-entry. Sure, your campaign needs to be clever, and ideally it should also be culturally connected, but it must also convert consumers to take another step and ultimately transact. Let’s apply more of that creativity to the point of conversion.