Americans fascination with the past is never-ending and savvy marketers and advertisers continue to capitalize on this trend. This Sunday, the Superbowl will air a slew of commercials heavily themed in ‘old school’.
This week on CBS’s show “The best Superbowl Commercials,” to hype the Superbowl, host Boomer Esiason teased viewers with an interactive element on ‘old school’ vs. ‘new school’ commercials showing the best spots of Superbowls past compared to snippets of what we can expect this Sunday. The TV hosts asked viewers to vote for their favorite spots. The very top ranking went to a “new school” spot (See below: Budweiser’s “Brotherhood” from 2013) while second place went to an “old school” spot (the Coke classic “Mean Joe Greene from 1980).
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And the target audience for this ‘old school’ f/k/a ‘retro’ themed ads? Baby boomers and millennials. As generation Zers come of age, they’ll have to work their way up the “old school” pop-culture learning curve. In any case, when it comes to marketing and advertising in 2015 and beyond, “Old School” is the now “New School.”
Here are a few of the ‘old school spots’ that aired on CBS this week:
Coca Cola: “Coke Mean Joe” 1980– featuring Pittsburgh Steeler Mean Joe Green. Viewers selected this commercial as second place.
Apple: Old School “1984″, directed by Ridley Scott, this spot aired in Super Bowl 18. Eighth place out of 10.
Noxema: “Creamed” 1973, featuring NFL Legend, quarterback ‘Broadway’ Joe Namath and pre-‘Charlie’s Angels’ actress, Farrah Fawcett from Superbowl VII. 10th Place.
When planning your advertising and marketing strategy for your brands or clients in 2015, think ‘old school.’ It appears to be a winner. Have a wonderful Wednesday. – AS
BY ABBE SPARKS
