Super Bowl 60: Are the Commercials Just a Dud or Is Advertising Over?

 Sure, the Dunkin commercial kept our attention. But otherwise, as Spun hammers, overall the commercials came across as a nuisance we had to put up with to take in Super Bowl 60. Some contend Anthropic's pitch about not carrying ads (as OpenAI is planning) was clever. But to me it seemed too clever by far. The formal term for that is "convoluted."

So, what's the takeaway here?

Is the disappointment with the pricey commercials partly a result of being embedded in a defensive game that wasn't exciting? Maybe. Also isn't what's palpable about the ads this: A lot of people were trying way too hard to make that investment in the commercials pan out. 

Or, should we conclude that something bigger has gone on tonight? It could be yet another confirmation that advertising as a medium is dying. And only partly because of AI. 

Advertising as we know it is less and less how we receive information, shift points of view or are nudged to part with our money. We go to social. We pore over the comments to articles in legacy media such as The Wall Street Journal and to posts on professional anonymous networks like Reddit. 

And, who do we trust? Those on our networks. Peer-to-peer. 

Here is something interesting. In its recruiting of the best and brightest in law school elite law firm Paul, Weiss has on the front lines current students who have already accepted job offers. They engage those in the class years behind them. Yes, peer-to-peer. Hey, you can trust me to give it to you straight about Paul, Weiss. Think also about this: The peer-to-peer approach to halting problem drinking - Alcoholics Anonymous - has generated over 70 other such programs. Ads can never achieve that personal touch. Especially not those pops-ups which appear for real estate in Stamford, Connecticut after we did a search on rentals there. 

Decades ago Harvard Business School marketing professor Ted Levitt said what has become more and more obvious. That's that folks like to buy. But not be sold to. 

In The Wall Street Journal podcast about Super Bowl advertising reporter Suzanne Vranica is blunt:

"The companies that own all these [advertising] agencies, they're contracting at a rapid clip. Creativity in terms of that part of the business had already been in a contracting stage … You're going to see lots of layoffs." 

Not unthinkable: Will Super Bowl 61 go commercial-free? 

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