BrandBowl 2010
Considering the whole reason I watch the Superbowl is for the commercials, when I heard about the Mullen/Radian6 BrandBowl (hashtag #brandbowl on Twitter) I was pretty excited. Finally, something for us AdHeads to participate in. Other than yelling at party guests who carelessly mill around right in front of the TV, or stumble past it on their way to the ice chest. During epic moments in advertising history.
Yes, for those of us who up until shortly after 6:00 p.m. had no real clue which teams were playing, we would have our own game inside the game.
A reason to get excited other than those little party wieners or our game “squares” that used to be the only motivation to plant ourselves on a couch for five hours on a perfectly good Sunday.
So despite the fact that I was looking forward to the BrandBowl, I found myself invited to a Superbowl party where basically no one was paying attention to the commercials (heresy!) other than some quiet guy hiding in a corner behind a Macbook Pro… until he quickly dashed from the party around half-time mumbling something about having to go to work to deal with calls and comments related to two Superbowl spots his company produced. Or something. Whaaaa?? Unfortunately I didn’t get to have any geekversation with him because he left so quick. Geez, for all I know he was BrandBowling that whole time.
Well, that’s what I was doing. My iPhone was fully charged and running pretty much the whole game. And let me tell you, I never had so much fun during a Superbowl.
But here’s the deal. It’s hard to see all the commercials when you’re BrandBowling! The network needs to come up with some scheduling plan next year that alternates great spots with lame spots. Because by nature, BrandBowling only allows you to watch every other commercial.
Watch commercial: 30 seconds.
Tweet about the commercial: 30 seconds.
Watch commercial: 30 seconds.
Tweet about commercial: 30 seconds.
And this doesn’t include commenting to other BrandBowlers or responding to followers. Which can really eat up precious viewing time. And don’t get me started on how racing to tweet seriously limits the depth of your analysis. Those “in-the-moment” tweets aren’t quite as astute as what you might say when you watch the spots in a quiet room by yourself. I actually cringed at a couple of my tweets given a few seconds to reflect after the fact. But regardless, BrandBowl was awesome and kept me on the edge of my seat.
Needless to say, I barely saw the football game.
So given all of the impediments to unfettered participation (including my party host TURNING THE VOLUME DOWN DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS!!) I’m already coming up with ways to improve my BrandBowl performance next year. Probably starting with some finger push-ups, typing classes, mission control computer set-up, and staying home from any Superbowl party so I can take full advantage of the DVR. And VOLUME CONTROL.
Or maybe I’ll watch the commercials in advance. Of course that would eliminate the fun and adrenaline of seeing spots for the first time as they roll across the TV screen. There’s just something magical about that. Not sure I want to give that up. It really added a greater level of excitement to the event.
I think that’s one of the reasons BrandBowl was so wildly popular. In the moment, you feel like the REAL game is the Brandbowl. And the Superbowl is just bathroom break filler until the next commercial rolls.
And then we’re back in the game!
BrandBowling is my new favorite contact sport. (Pun not intended). Thanks, Mullen and Radian6, Superbowls will never be the same.
Read the BrandForward reviews of the Superbowl spots!
Touchdown or Smackdown: Best & Worst Ads of Superbowl 2010
