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Advertisers and companies are experiencing the madness

During the month of March, the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament takes the country by storm, with millions of people of filling out brackets and tuning into each game. However, this also means an important time for advertisers. According to Kantar Media, advertisers spent over $1.3 million on ads during March Madness in 2018. This was the second highest amount spent on a sporting event only to fall short to the NFL Playoffs including the Superbowl.

Although the Superbowl is highly regarded as the most popular event of the year for advertisers, I feel that with all the spending going towards March Madness, there could be a shift going in favor of March Madness. I feel the event draws many advertisers like Coca Cola, Pizza Hut, and AT&T just to name a few in which these advertisers know there is a large population that watches the NCAA tournament games. In addition to this, these types of companies are able to make ads with college basketball themes specifically for March Madness. For instance, every year Reeses does advertisements for the NCAA Tournament since they are the official candy of March Madness. Through this, they are able to use their creativity to create engaging and unique ads.

Another reason why advertising during March Madness has been trending over the years is due to the cost effectiveness to advertise during this time. According to SQAD, a media cost and analysis group, it costs approximately between $1.3 and $1.7 million to run an ad during the Final Four. That is more affordable for companies and advertising agencies to run ads compared to during the Super Bowl where it can cost up to $5 million for a 30 second ad. 

Although March Madness isn’t as popular in terms of ratings as the Super Bowl, it is still a great time for companies and ad agencies to take advantage of the spotlight and earn profit at a more affordable cost. It won’t be surprising if in the next 10 years, the NCAA Tournament becomes the most popular sporting event over the Super Bowl for the reasons listed above.

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Miller Lite Ad fights back against Bud Light

With Bud Light taking the beer advertisement world by storm, it seems as if they are unstoppable in terms of the message in their ads and the popularity they are gaining. However, Miller Lite’s most recent advertisement pokes fun towards Bud Light in the most subtle way.

After watching the ad various times, I really admire Miller Lite for taking a stand against Bud Light’s ad campaign in a light hearted and simple way. For instance, the way the ad plays out where it seems that coming from Bud Light. However, the actor takes off the armor and grabs for a Miller Lite in the refrigerator where there is also Bud Light. I also believe their message is clever in their slogan for a few reasons. 

The ad wants us to be in the mindset the Bud Light ads take you away from reality and don’t focus on the taste of the beer. Therefore, I appreciate how Miller Lite takes viewers back down to reality and puts an emphasis on taste, a quality that matters to others who enjoy beer.  In terms of how the actual ad presented itself, I think Miller Lite executed their message very well. I noticed that in this Miller Lite ad, it shows people actually enjoying the beverage unlike Bud Light. I feel that in the Bud Light ad, the “Dily Dily” themes take away from the actual experience you get from drinking Bud Light. It focuses too much on what happens if you don’t drink Bud Light. Instead, the Miller Lite ad has a more relaxed tone as the advertisement wants to send the message that you should enjoy your beer.

With this type of analysis, I hope that Miller Lite continues to do these types of ads. Not only do they fight back in a creative way, but the advertising is more simple and effective in terms of their message, creative standpoint, and trying to show why Miller Lite is the preferred beer over Bud Light. 

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Here are some ways to create engaging YouTube ads

Nobody, including myself, likes to sit through ads on YouTube. Most of the time, they are either ads that I have already seen on TV, ads that are boring and repetitive, or ads that don’t cater to my personal interests. However, there have been recent times where ads on YouTube have peaked my interest in whatever product or brand is being advertised. I question myself on what prevents me from clicking the “skip ad” button for certain ads and how certain companies are able to keep viewers engaged. 

In Think With Google’s article via Pinterest about YouTube ads, it goes over different tactics that advertisers use to keep their audiences engaged. However, there are certain methods I would have never thought of in creating effective and creative ads. I feel that humor is important when it comes to viewer engagement. For instance, I create a relationship with a brand based on what ads I see on YouTube, such as the frequent Grub Hub ads that pop up. Although I don’t use Grub Hub often, I always enjoy watching the ads even if I have the option to skip. The reason is that they grab my attention right away and don’t waste any time in promoting the product. The ads are usually only 15 seconds and get straight to the point in which food can be delivered to your home at an efficient rate.

Another interesting way to keep audiences interested in YouTube ads is including people of their interest, especially YouTube celebrities. In correlation with humor, adding people that you are familiar with to these advertisements can create an immediate positive response. For instance, if you see a celebrity or famous athlete in an ad promoting one of your favorite products, chances are you will stick around to watch that ad. Because of this, you will have a new identity of the ad just based on one person. Tactics like this work when trying to get people to watch YouTube ads.

Although ads can be boring to sit through, it is important for companies and brands to make ads that will cater to YouTube audiences. This means creating ads that are short but engaging as well adding humor. These three components not only will get the viewers attention, but it could potentially make them invest in buying the product that is being advertised.