Super Bowl advertisers are ramping up on social media to complement their pricey TV ads (more than $3 million for a 30-second spot) for the 2013 Super Bowl on Sunday. Consider:
Doritos Promotes Fan Talent
Doritos is once again running its annual "Crash the Super Bowl" ad contest in which fans create their own commercials and the winning spot gets aired during the Super Bowl. You can vote for the five finalists this year on Dorito's Facebook Page.
Fans Choose Ending for Audi Spot
Audi also is letting fans have a say in which ad version it airs during the SuperBowl, and is posting a TV spot with different endings on YouTube, inviting fans to vote.
Pepsi Sponsors Halftime Photo Contest
Pepsi is running a social media contest to support its sponsorship of a "half-time gallery" photo montage that wlll be displayed in the lead-up to the halftime show featuring Beyonce. For now, Pepsi has totally transformed its main home page at Pepsi.com into a big ad for its Super Bowl social media campsign.
Coke Hosts Race Across the Desert
Coca-cola is trying to tap the social zeitgeist around the Super Bowl, too. Its website CokeChase.com features a teaser ad featuring a competition between characters in a race to grab a big Coke bottle. Social media fans get involved in the race and decide the winner.
Bud Light also is ramping up social media this year. The beer brand is running game-related social media campaigns with Justin Timberlake's MySpace this year, along with a tweeting effort around the official hashtag #tasteis, touting Budweiser Black Crown, to complement its TV spots. (Of course, we all know how easily "official" hashtags get hijacked on Twitter.. )
In addition, Anheuser-Busch (owner of the BudLight brand) is concluding a month-long Facebook contest to find a beer-promoting Facebook "correspondent." Sports and beer fans have been submitting 30-second videos on the company's Facebook page as they vie for the big prize of being a "hotel correspondent" in New Orleans at the "Bud Light Hotel" where Anheuser-Busch will be throwing big parties near the game site.
To participate in Bud Light's social media chatter, check out:
- Bud Light's "Bud Light Hotel" on MySpace
- Bud Light's Facebook page, which recently went over 5 million "likes", driven up by the video contest
