In the advertising game that is taking place before the big football game, Amazon is running with a crop of heavy hitters who are leading the way in digital engagement before anyone turns on a television this Sunday.
Amazon’s Alexa ad, which features a host of celebrities filling in when the tech-giant’s AI assistant loses her voice, is in the thick of the top five, going up against spots for Doritos/Mountain Dew, NBC’s “This Is Us,” Budweiser and the film “Dundee.”
With Super Bowl LII still two days away, the days are long gone when advertisers would get all of their eyeballs from viewers of the actual game. Now online views and social actions are factored into whether an ad is a success.
Bellevue, Wash., based iSpot.tv, which measures ad analytics in real time, ranks the top ads by digital SOV, or share of voice, which we had to Google and which led us to this definition: “The share of total advertising exposures that a brand gets … a way to measure a brand’s presence and to gauge how visible a brand was within an advertising medium during a specific time period. It is usually represented as a percentage of the total exposures.”
So, with that in mind, let’s watch the top-performing ads as of Friday … that you’re going to see again on Sunday, but probably with a lot more people in your living room:
1. Battle: Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Super Ice
It’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” hip-hop version. “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) sets the place on fire as the voice of Busta Rhymes before Morgan Freeman comes in to cool things down as the voice of Missy Elliott. (18.11 percent digital SOV)
2. ‘This is Us’ promo
The fire continues in this trailer for NBC’s hit series, which returns after the game. “All of your questions will be answered in a special new episode,” the teaser promises. Really? Will Tom Brady retire now? Answer that one. (10.83 percent digital SOV)
3. Amazon’s Alexa loses her voice
“You’re sure this is going to work?” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asks in a cameo appearance for his own company’s ad in which he’s not even the biggest celebrity cameo appearance. It looks like it’s working so far, Jeff. The ad has more than 19 million online views. (10.72 percent digital SOV)
4. Budweiser ‘Stand by You’
Some things are just a given: Bill Belichick will frown through three hours of football, and Budweiser will tug at the heart strings of America with either a fluffy dog, trotting horse or … water in a can. Cheers! (10.32 digital SOV)
5. ‘Dundee’ trailer
G’day! Losers. It’s Kenny Powers down under. Sort of. This trailer has a little something for everyone if you like your celebrities Australian. Danny McBride notwithstanding, the film features Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, Isla Fisher, Ruby Rose and Liam Hemsworth. (9.29 percent digital SOV)
Here’s to hoping those all pay off for the brands involved. A 30-second spot will cost more than a reported $5 million during this year’s game.
Super Bowl LII airs on NBC at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
