On Super Bowl Sunday, we actually enjoy watching commercials -- and that’s one reason why companies are shelling out up to $5 million for 30 seconds of airtime. But savvy brands, watching the shift from TV to web, are also relying on digital marketing campaigns to engage customers. In recent years, social media and YouTube have powered viral ads that made a huge impact on pop culture.
Some of the most memorable and successful Super Bowl commercials in the past 10 years include Volkswagen's 2011 hit "The Force," which was released four days before the big game -- a very unorthodox move at the time -- and has racked up over 63 million views on YouTube to date.
That year, Chrysler's "Imported From Detroit" ad with Eminem also drove curious customers on social media directly to the brand's website, giving them a much-needed sales boost during the auto industry slump.
Snicker's "You're Not You When You're Hungry" commercial in 2010 was also a stroke of digital marketing genius. The viral ad helped to fuel the #EatASnickers hashtag, which is still popular in 2016, and now rappers like Fabolous are still slipping casual references to Betty White and Snickers into their songs.
Doritos also moved the needle big time, with their innovative and long-running "Crash the Super Bowl" series. By letting fans compete to design their Super Bowl commercials, the brand increased audience engagement and saw a huge spike in sales from 2006 to 2016.
We're excited to see which commercials use digital marketing to make pop culture waves at Super Bowl 50.
