Super Bowl 2018: Matt Miller, BBDO San Francisco

 

Matt Miller
Chief Creative Officer BBDO San Francisco
In a few words, can you tell us who you are and what your job title is?
Matt Miller, Chief Creative Officer at BBDO San Francisco.
The current price for a 30 second slot is over $5 million. In your opinion is the spend worth it?
I’d say yes, for many brands it’s absolutely worth it. The views alone are worth the price. But more than that, in many ways the Super Bowl is the last truly populist media event in American culture. My mom who doesn’t get sports, my cousin who still owns a flip-phone, my football-obsessed friends. They all watch. And I’m guaranteed to hear about their favorite ads just as much as I am about the game. Where else does that happen?
Is there a demographic you believe Super Bowl advertisers have failed to target or a business sector that is underrepresented?
I think the financial sector is woefully underrepresented at the Super Bowl.
Who do you think is the ‘brand to watch’ at this year’s Super Bowl?
I don’t really think people “watch out” for brands. I know I don’t. It comes down to who brings the goods on the day. That can really come from anyone. As advertisers, I think we like to overanalyze the ads and debate which are best. But if you watch the game with non-ad people and just listen to their responses, the best ads become very obvious very quickly.
Do you think advertisers can benefit from taking a political/social stance in the Super Bowl?
Yes, but only if the brand has a genuine connection to that stance coming into the game. Lately we’ve seen a lot of examples of brands jumping on the “Cause Bandwagon” with no real way of backing up their commitment. That is not only a terrible move for a brand to make, it’s a disaster waiting to happen if the Super Bowl is the time you decide to announce your “bandwagon-ing” to the world.
Are there any fumbled opportunities that come to mind when you think of past Super Bowl advertising?
I thought the Nationwide spot a few years ago with the dead kid was really tone deaf.
Eagles or Patriots?
Patriots.
What is your favorite Super Bowl ad of all time?
All time favorite is too tough. But from last year it was probably either the Melissa McCarthy Kia spot, which I just thought was super funny, or the live Snickers spot that I thought was so fantastically ambitious. Both made me jealous.
 

 

Matt Miller
Chief Creative Officer BBDO San Francisco