Welcome to Digiday’s weekend-long coverage of the 2015 Super Bowl, played Sunday evening in Phoenix, Arizona. Following are our updates on everything but the football itself. This is your one-stop-shop for real-time marketing hits and misses as well as news on all the sideshows — the “other” Bowls that feature puppies, wings and scantily-clad women.
Starting from the pre-game show all the way until after the game’s been decided, we evaluated the best and worst brand moments on Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Instagram and Snapchat. We’ve especially kept an eye on the record-number of virgin marketers who will be making their first game-day appearances this year.
Our live-blog attempted to note the more interesting brand moves, starting on Saturday and on through the game on Sunday. Read on for a reverse-chronological review of the game that was. Check back later today for a breakdown of the game’s off-field winners and losers.
Post game
10:43
T-Mobile
This isn’t brand-on-brand action, more like CEO-on-CEO trolling. Infamously brazen T-Mobile chief John Legere is using the Super Bowl to publicly criticize Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, while defending T-Mobile’s newest endorser Kim Kardashian.
.@sprint and @marceloclaure are doing a lot of “apologizing” tonight – they should start with @kimkardashian. pic.twitter.com/MW6Q4lUUZw
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 2, 2015
Grade: B- 10:36 p.m. Virgin America Virgin American retweeted this consumer praise, so while it’s not a brand tweet per se, it’s still an undisputed win for the brand (and, apparently, the passenger).
Great time on @VirginAmerica watching the Super Bowl. Being on a flight on SB Sun is a complete bummer, but VA made it a party. — Jeremy Anderson (@jeremyanderson) February 2, 2015
Grade: B+
10:31
Facebook
Unlike Twitter and Snapchat, Facebook did not add much to the Super Bowl viewing experience. The social network’s special Super Bowl page was decidedly stagnant. Other than the live feed portion — which was hidden below the fold — the page did not change in real-time. Twitter again proved it was the superior addendum to a live, breaking news event.
Grade: D
10:25 p.m.
Sherwin-Williams
Good on you, Sherwin-Williams, for differentiating by looking ahead to Groundhog Day tomorrow. Extra credit for not going for an obvious Bill Murray reference.
We’re rooting for Morning Fog (SW 6255) and not a Pink Shadow (SW 0070) tomorrow. Come on, springtime! #GroundhogDay pic.twitter.com/BWAYvnczM7 — Sherwin-Williams (@SherwinWilliams) February 2, 2015
Grade: B+ 10:23 Snapchat Snapchat surprised usuers by not curating Super Bowl-related images and videos from its users as a Snapchat Story about the game. The messaging app did take the Super Bowl as an opportunity to showcase its new Discover feature, however. Snapchat turned a poem from Houston Texans running back Arian Foster into a short film called “Where We Dwell” and distributed it to users through Discover on Sunday. Granted we’re suckers for motivational sports films, but this was well done, and Snapchat again proves itself a worthy second-screen experience. Grade: A 10:11 p.m. The NFL No brand is on display more during the Super Bowl than the NFL itself. And as entertaining as the game was, it was certainly a less-than-stellar day for the league. For one, the NFL’s lingering concussion problem reared its battered head twice on Sunday, once when Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril had to leave the game with a concussion in the third quarter, and again when New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman suffered a big hit and seemed to act concussed throughout the remainder of the game. The fight at the end of the game only acted to reinforce the NFL’s image as employing players who are violent beyond the bounds of the game.
This isn’t good! (Via @davebirkett) https://t.co/N0fju6reee pic.twitter.com/IJA0XixL1X — SB Nation (@SBNation) February 2, 2015
Grade: D
10:07 p.m.
Denny’s
Denny’s catering to the classiest crowd, as usual.
even if you get EJECTED you will still be ACCEPTED at denny’s diner 2nite — Denny’s (@DennysDiner) February 2, 2015
Grade: C Fourth quarter 10:04 PM Cheerio’s That play just changed the game. And Cheerios nailed the look on our faces. Move over, Oreo.
Everyone’s mouth right now: pic.twitter.com/cZjfD42kgK — Cheerios (@cheerios) February 2, 2015
Grade: A
9:59 p.m.
So far, it seems like sentimentality is winning the day. Ad analytics firm Ace Metrix has announced that McDonald’s “Pay with Lovin'” ad, which suggested customers could get their meal for free if they paid with a fist bump or a hug, is one of the Super Bowl’s top-scoring ads tonight. Ace scores ad based on a range of dimensions including likeability and engagement. 9:54 p.m. Doritos Doritos sprinkled nuclear-orange spice dust all over Victoria’s Secret Super Bowl ad. Our secret? We kinda liked it.
.@VictoriasSecret you floored us with your spot. Hire us next time? Here’s our audition tape #DoritosSecret https://t.co/gWbgvl03Pl — Doritos (@Doritos) February 2, 2015
Grade: A- 9:46 p.m. … Touchdown! 50 Shades of Gray If this Super Bowl taught us anything, it’s that dads are special or something. So. Enjoy explaining BDSM to your 8 year-old, dads everywhere. We suppose that’s one way to get your trailer in front of a nation.
“250 million trailer views”? That 50 Shades of Grey ad was the best case study video I’ve ever seen. — R/GA (@RGA) February 2, 2015
Grade: B
9:40 p.m. … NSFW!
Dan Savage
Esteemed Seattle-based sex advice guru Dan Savage never skips #legday, even during the Big Game. Agency execs should really poach this guy. (Ed note: Technically NSFW, but it is pixellated. And jacked.)
So, yeah, you can pretty much do whatever you want in Seattle for the next 30 or so minutes. #SuperBowIXLIX pic.twitter.com/za35cu0khR — Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) February 2, 2015
Grade: A+++++++ 9:36 p.m. Pepsi Is the Pepsi social team watching this game on DVR? Because the halftime show was a while ago — and this tweet would have been relevant during any half time show ever.
They’re pulling out all the stops tonight! pic.twitter.com/MUlieplLIk — Pepsi™ (@pepsi) February 2, 2015
Grade: D+
9:32 p.m.
Loctite Glue
We’re not completely sure what’s going on here. But we are pretty confident that it makes everyone uncomfortable.
You don’t choose the fanny pack life. The fanny pack life chooses you. #WinAtGlue! pic.twitter.com/f86tRN9OP6 — Loctite Glue (@LoctiteGlue) February 2, 2015
Grade: B- 9:29 p.m. TGI Fridays Today’s forced real-time commentary comes to you courtesy of TGI Fridays. For the first time, we’re glad it’s not actually Friday.
May your apps never be as incomplete as that pass. pic.twitter.com/4OaEklzlkg — TGI Fridays (@TGIFridays) February 2, 2015
Grade: D
9:25 p.m.
Purina
The puppy commentators are getting tired. A bit canned, but hey, puppies.
Breaking news from our #BigGame commentators … #BetterWithPuppies pic.twitter.com/yMBKAwyRHX — Purina (@Purina) February 2, 2015
Grade: B 9:21 p.m. McDonald’s The McDonald’s Twitter account is spamming a garbled response to every Super Bowl commercial. Maybe their social media person had one too many McCafé Lattes.
Lovin’ the bond between a man & his bear in @WhatTedSaid. RT to try to win movie tix for a year https://t.co/ecH6l29VdI — McDonald’s (@McDonalds) February 2, 2015
Grade: D+
9:17 p.m.
Church of Scientology
The search for answers is over, you guys. The Church of Scientology has us covered.
This year, it is the “Age of Answers!” Watch our #SuperBowlXLIX commercial here https://t.co/tXGhyj4ic1 pic.twitter.com/8OwjtUJtZW — Scientology (@Scientology) February 2, 2015
Grade: F Third quarter 9:10 p.m. JetBlue There’s been no shortage of brands piggybacking on the female empowerment message of Always’ Like a Girl ad. Hat tip to Jet Blue for its more authentic tweet than most. Double hat tip for handling trolls with aplomb.
Fly #LikeAGirl. pic.twitter.com/42tpWwY7WH — JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) February 2, 2015
Grade: A- 9:09 p.m. Budweiser The self-anointed king of beers has (unwittingly? trollingly?) unleashed a Bud drinkers’ war on craft beer aficionados. In this case, Budweiser is taking the high road, letting its fans do its work for it.
I think that Budweiser commercial just spent 60 seconds saying “craft beer is for nerds and queers” — Kip (@kipthegreat) February 2, 2015
Grade: B 8:58 p.m. Papa John’s The mediocre pizza chain tries hard for timely reaction, but is this the best image they could find? Time to upgrade the mediocre creative team.
WIDE OPEN. Touchdown #Seahawks! #GoGary #SB49 pic.twitter.com/PdOFVqm0FW — Papa John’s Pizza (@PapaJohns) February 2, 2015
Grade: C- 8:52 p.m. … Touchdown! Nationwide Nationwide may be on your side — but are you sure you want it there? The insurer is getting major blowback from its downer of an ad featuring a dead kid. Instant meme. Now everyone is sad. Except Patriots fans?
At the very best, @Nationwide was going to waste millions of dollars an a completely worthless ad. At the very worst? . . . @NationwideKills — Vince Skolny (@VinceSkolny) February 2, 2015
Grade: D 8:34 p.m. Pornhub Just imagine if Pornhub did its own Super Bowl ads. Actually, don’t imagine. Please don’t imagine.
Please stop uploading the Katy Perry upskirt video to Pornhub. #KatyPerrySuperBowl — Pornhub Katie (@Pornhub) February 2, 2015
Grade: B+
Halftime
8:29 p.m.
YouTube
This host’s beard is the best part of YouTube’s halftime show. Possibly the whole Super Bowl.
Grade: D
8:22 p.m.
Meanwhile, on YouTube
YouTube has decided to compete with Katy Perry by throwing a YouTuber in a dunk tank. It’s like NBC is Cirque du Soleil and YouTube is your local carnival. Someone at Google is getting yelled at right now. Grade: F- 8:19 p.m. Tide The only thing messy here is the thought process behind this tweet, Tide.
We thought they said Messy Elliot. pic.twitter.com/7VgOraruGx — Tide (@tide) February 2, 2015
Grade: D 8:12 p.m. Container Store We’re not convinced that’s how the song goes, storage space company.
.@katyperry Cause I’m a container and you’re gonna hear me store-or-or-or-or-or! #halftime #superbowl — The Container Store (@ContainerStore) February 2, 2015
Grade: D
8:06
Katy Perry
The Half Time headliner probably should have scrubbed her Twitter profile first.
#notwatchingthesuperbowl — KATY PERRY (@katyperry) February 8, 2010
Grade: D Second Quarter 7.58 p.m. Simple Mobile Even small telecom brands can crack big jokes right before half-time.
#SIMPLEMobile gives you more #4GLTE data. 2GB for $40 and 10GB for $60. #TOUCHDOWN! #SIMPLYMore #superbowl pic.twitter.com/bkQtVbpcPa — SIMPLE Mobile (@SIMPLEMobile) February 2, 2015
Grade: B
7:47 p.m. … Touchdown!
Bud Light
Another touchdown, another uninspired sponsor tweet. We can all do better than this. Bring the puppies back.
GRONK TOUCHDOWN #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/ZKsMdvDQi4 — Bud Light (@budlight) February 2, 2015
Grade: C- 7.40 p.m. Peta Not everyone cares it’s game day, McDonald’s, least of all the trollingest of animal rights organizations.
#McDonalds doesn’t choose #Lovin‘ 4 chickens They choose 2 immerse them in SCALDING-HOT WATER #McCruelty #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/x2vS5xosrf — PETA (@peta) February 2, 2015
Grade: C
7.34 p.m.
Skittles
The candy man can. But we kinda saw this one coming, to be honest.
YASS! @MoneyLynch FOR THE TOUCHDOWN! #sponsor #moreawesomer pic.twitter.com/VqAJsWR341 — Skittles (@Skittles) February 2, 2015
Grade: B 7:33 … Touchdown! Orange is the New Black Target demo? Who needs a target demo? The Super Bowl is for everyone. And so is this tweet of wonder.
Maybe after the game. #SuperBowl #OITNB pic.twitter.com/mofooSyzx5 — Orange Is the New… (@OITNB) February 2, 2015
Grade: A
7.19 p.m.
Capitol Records
We get that you’re getting impatient, but a few more minutes won’t kill you, record company that stands to profit a quadjillion dollars tonight.
Growing old waiting for @katyperry to take the stage… #SB49 pic.twitter.com/bKGLrEylcc — Capitol Records (@CapitolRecords) February 2, 2015
Grade: D 7.11 pm … Touchdown! Charmin The reigning king of potty humor, as always, does not fail to entertain.
That feeling when you get into the end zone. #SB49 https://t.co/RH0FuCWG3g — Charmin (@Charmin) February 2, 2015
Grade: A-
7:12 p.m.
Trojan condoms
Sports, followed by steaming up the sheets? We suppose how lucky you get depends on on which team you were on/rooting for.
Stay tuned for the post-game show. #TrojanCondoms pic.twitter.com/3sEqzBcnpe — Trojan Condoms (@TrojanCondoms) February 2, 2015
Grade: B- Party City You can do so much better than that, party company. Lay off the puppies anyway, they belong to Budweiser. #TeamRuff
Puppies = Party. #football #Ads — Party City (@PartyCity) February 2, 2015
Grade: D
7:06 p.m.
OPI
Yes, it’s the second quarter. And no, nail polish is on nobody’s mind OPI.
Q2! do you rock our OPI neutrals or brights? pic.twitter.com/zTB2Q5oFhh — OPI Nail Lacquer (@OPI_PRODUCTS) February 2, 2015
Grade: D 7:02 p.m. Weight Watchers The game is flying by, but Weight Watchers’ sense of humor could use a little goose.
After that play, emotions and corn dogs are running hot in New England. #SB49 pic.twitter.com/5eo9WRvMBE — Weight Watchers (@WeightWatchers) February 2, 2015
Grade: D
First Quarter
6:56
Audi
The German automaker — which chose to sit out of the game this year — is sure to see a lot of smug people retweeting this bit of shade.
Another satisfied customer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/HnVpPIMusQ #Audi pic.twitter.com/avc975SqHu — Audi (@Audi) February 1, 2015
Grade: B McDonald’s Meanwhile, the house that Ronald built is really sucking up to other brands tonight, offering up chances to win stuff that other companies made. Question: Is McDonald’s looking to buy love because nobody wants to buy what Mickey D’s is selling these days?
What’s an @! Hahah, lovin’ the brilliant @bmw ad. Regardless of what’s under the hood, RT and you could win a BMW i3 https://t.co/fO5EDEJjKB — McDonald’s (@McDonalds) February 1, 2015
Well tip us over! Free tax filing from @TurboTax. RT to try & win $1000 towards a boatload of whatever you’re lovin’ https://t.co/TLhyxExQxV — McDonald’s (@McDonalds) February 1, 2015
Grade: C- 6:47 p.m. NBC The network debuted its first-ever Tumblr in honor of the game. You can watch all the ads, but also grab some pretty cool reaction GIFs here. Or you can, you know, watch the game on TV. 6.40 p.m. Hamburger Helper The brand beloved by bros goes the inside-joke route with this tweet about how they’re not advertising during the Super Bowl. We see right through you.
Spent that ad budget on lean ground beef. — Helper (@helper) February 1, 2015
Grade: C
6:32 p.m.
Doritos
Doritos has been on a bit of a tweetblitz tonight, getting hot-and-heavy with the brand-on-brand action. To be fair, though, the chip company does know how to drum up some love when it comes to real-time marketing.
.@Tostitos, how about we bet on the coin toss? Heads we win. Tails you lose. Winner pays for a #SB50 party! #ByReadingThisYouAcceptTheBet — Doritos (@Doritos) February 1, 2015
Hey @SouthwestAir we think #Doritos in the #MiddleSeat would be a great ice breaker for your fliers https://t.co/QpFZmNfVdf — Doritos (@Doritos) February 1, 2015
Grade: B+
6:31 p.m.
Bark Box
And we’re off with some official game action! Puppy eyes always work and make for a nice way to officially kick things off. Nicely done, Bark Box. And for the record, we feel the same way, generally.
After #DeflateGate, I no longer trust balls that aren’t mine. pic.twitter.com/s50vOCKMfd — BarkBox (@barkbox) February 1, 2015
Grade: A
Pregame
6.15 p.m.
16 Handles Yogurt company really wants you to know they’re super hip to all the football controversies. Thanks, yogurt, company
#NYC – when you’re ready for dessert (or if you’re feeling deflated), check out @Seamless. Most of our Manhattan stores now deliver! — 16 Handles (@16Handles) February 1, 2015
Grade: D 6.04 p.m. The most-recent data from iSpot.TV puts Budweiser at the head of the class when it comes to all online activity about the Super Bowl. The brewer’s puppy-meets-Clydesdales outing has enjoyed almost 7 million online video views — and it hasn’t even played on TV yet. Pepsi is now the official brand advertiser responsible for most of the conversations about the Super Bowl, according to data from Brandwatch. You can track the Brand Bowl live with this handy dandy chart. 6 p.m. Avocados from Mexico And here we have “comedian” George Lopez, answering questions on Twitter about things completely unrelated to the Super Bowl. This service brought to you by Super Bowl first-time advertisers Avocados from Mexico.
Let the virtual pregame begin, thx 2 @avosfrommexico! Ask me questions using #FirstDraftEver. MI CASA ES SU CASA! pic.twitter.com/WQdqpIOsAr — George Lopez (@georgelopez) February 1, 2015
Grade: D
5.54 p.m.
Burger King
No clue about what is going on but want to sound like you do? BK, friend of fakers everywhere, has your back. The fast food giant will be tweeting out smart, football-y things for you to say during the game so you sound like you know what you’re on about.
We’ll give you the right things to say during the game at the right times. #BigGameWithBK — Burger King (@BurgerKing) February 1, 2015
Grade: B 5.10 p.m. Wheat Thins It probably took a ton of effort to create this “Dipscape” out of guac, dips and chips, so expect Wheat Thins to be talking about this all damn game.
To build anything great you need a strong foundation…like Nabisco Toasted Cracker Chips and 30 pounds of guacamole. https://t.co/UtDGfkRH1l — Wheat Thins (@WheatThins) February 1, 2015
Grade: B
5.07 p.m.
Ben Kunz, we have no idea what you’re talking about.
I kinda feel the real-time snark chatter about Super Bowl ads has jumped the shark. Which I guess makes this tweet metasnarky. — Ben Kunz (@benkunz) February 1, 2015
Grade: All the As 4.30 p.m. Kotex Some early brand-on-brand action here. This was a big theme last year. But will Doritos take the Kotex bait? (Ahh, there’s a sentence no one has ever written before.) Also, #periodcravings? Really?
Umm… is it #snack time yet? What’s your fav snack to eat on #gameday? We love some @Doritos! #periodcravings #SB49 pic.twitter.com/pGyiNooPlQ — U by Kotex (@ubykotex) February 1, 2015
Grade: D
4.20 p.m.
If you need something to read before the game, here’s a brief history of the traffic whoring that is “What time is the Super Bowl?” from The Atlantic. Also, relatedly, this is funny:
What Time Is The Superbowl? (HuffPo) 27 Times The Superbowl (BuzzFeed) What Is The Superbowl? (Vox) What Is Fusion (Fusion) What? (Medium) — Tom Gara (@tomgara) February 1, 2015
4.16 p.m. Macy’s Cute attempt from Macy’s to drive people to their sports apparel sections before the game starts.
Tonight’s the night—fingers crossed! #biggame #NOTD https://t.co/DRfudJ59JK pic.twitter.com/HRmiZKkaJq — Macy’s (@Macys) February 1, 2015
Grade: C
4.08 p.m.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile, spamming your users with pictures of Kim Kardashian and her breasts is lazy and pandering, even if she will be appearing in your television ad during the game. (Ed. note: the Digiday editors were not unanimous in the strenuous objection to this tweet.)
@LauraNewling Straight from my private stash! Your friends will be so jealous <3 Kim #KimsDataStash pic.twitter.com/sQX8uty8uQ — T-Mobile (@TMobile) February 1, 2015
Grade: D+ 4.00 p.m. Puppy Bowl Over at the much furrier Bowl game on right now, a cat named Katy Furry performed at Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl. The sideshow began at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, with replayed set to be played all night.
It’s been an action-packed #PuppyBowl XI — vote the game’s MVP now! https://t.co/vp4AenxY6y pic.twitter.com/IdUWARyTX5 — BISSELL (@BISSELLclean) February 1, 2015
3.36 p.m.
An early bit of excitement from the Seahawks Twitter account — minus points for the transparent attempt to get Macklemore to retweet by tagging the singer. We’re pretty sure he prefers the other kind of football anyway.
The ceiling can’t hold us. They are opening the roof. #SB49 pic.twitter.com/Rt5YU7Oarb — Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) February 1, 2015
Grade: C
Saturday
Itching for something to read before the action starts? Here’s all the stuff you could buy online for $4.5 million, the price of one 30-second Super Bowl TV spot. Or, you could play Katy Perry Halftime Bingo, created by Kate Proulx, senior product designer at Huge.
Brandwatch is charting which brands are winning on Twitter in a live graph they’ll be updating every two minutes once the game kicks off:
Elsewhere in brand land, YouGov BrandIndex has been interviewing 25,000 adults since Jan. 1 to gauge their feelings about an array of advertiser. Turns out automakers and soft-drink brands are already winning the pre-game brand perception race — Toyota and Coke specifically are the companies that evoke the warmest and fuzziest of feelings. But “best improved” brand sentiment goes to Pepsi, which stages the halftime show. The brand has been staging “strange occurrences” (like this “crop circle” in Phoenix) across the country all month.
As for teasers and pre-releases — of which there are plenty — Budweiser’s “Lost Dog,” a tearjerker that features Clydesdales and their lost puppy is killing it online, representing 25 percent of all Super Bowl-related online activity, with 11.6 million views and 406,723 social actions (shares and likes) according to iSpot.
12:00 pm.
Mountain Dew is one of the earlier brand movers on Snapchat. The company will debut Kickstory, a real-time, “fan-driven” Snapchat story at noon E.T. today. Add “MountainDew” as a contact and watch the story unfold. You can then vote for what happens next — screenshot one of two choices and tweet your choice with #Kickstart. The last snap will disappear right before kick-off, on Sunday at 6 p.m. According to a spokesperson, that’s because the brand is “about getting you charged for anything, and in this case, that’s the Super Bowl.”
More in Marketing
Inside the strategy that grew Cristiano Ronaldo’s YouTube account to 1M subscribers in 90 minutes
Ronaldo has created the largest sports-themed YouTube channel on the web in two months – but he’s not done it alone.
Marketing execs believe deeper relationships, understanding influencers can avoid potential backlash in politics
Influencer marketing and agency execs believe marketers should instead zero in on understanding the influencers they work with and their audiences rather than totally bowing out during difficult moments.
Digiday+ Research: A look at brands’ 2024 holiday marketing plans
This year, brands and retailers expect their holiday revenues to rise over last year, and they’ll put a bit more focus on new customers rather than existing ones, according to Digiday+ Research’s annual holiday survey.