Everyone likes to do a taste test before choosing their choice of ice cream or beer. Brands realize that whetting the appetite of their consumers is essential to influence their purchase behavior. Super Bowl Teasers do precisely that. They arouse curiosity and make consumers look forward to the Ads that brands spend a fortune on.  

With 30-second ad spots costing between $6 to $7 million during the Super Bowl, the importance of hitting the sweet spot is amplified. The prices for airing Super Bowl Ads have skyrocketed since 1967, but this has not deterred brands from competing for that ad space. The primary reason behind this investment is the opportunity to gain the visibility of a wider audience.  

A consumer encounters around 6,000-10,000 ads a day. Even though the consumer’s attention span has been diminishing, the competition to grab their attention has been increasing. With consumers being hooked on the Super Bowl matches, an ad spot is a perfect way to get a consumer’s undivided attention.  

Even though investing in Ad spots makes sense, does spending additional money on teasers do too? Let’s find out the answers to such questions and more in this article!

Role of Super Bowl Ad Teasers

Super Bowl teasers were earlier just meant to make consumers look forward to the main ad, but now it is something fans really look forward to. Weeks before the Super Bowl, brands started to roll out teasers to keep their consumers hooked. Some brands release multiple teasers, with the climax being the main ad.  

Teaser campaigns are a timeless way of packaging a brand’s message. They also help-

• Propagate a feeling of inclusion amongst the audience
• Increase excitement and anticipation
• Brands take advantage of the insatiable curiosity of their viewers
• Improve brand awareness and recall  
• Add an element of fun

Analysis of Super Bowl Ad Teasers

Brands spend months in research to predict the success of their Super Bowl Teaser Campaigns. So we at Entropik wanted to dig deep and understand if they were worth the dollars!  

We took 6 trending Super Bowl Ad Teasers and tested them on a group of 100 respondents aged between 20 to 40 years from the USA.

• Jeff Ross Gets Ready to Roast Mr. Peanut – PLANTERS
• Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania – Heineken 0.0
• Big Game 2023 Ad Teaser( Meghan Trainor) – Pringles
• Super Bowl Teaser Feat. Walt and Jesse from Breaking Bad- PopCorners
• SBLVII Six Degrees of Bud- Budweiser
• Big Game Teaser – Avocados From Mexico

We conducted this study using Entropik’s AI-powered Integrated Research Platform. With the help of Facial Coding and Eye Tracking, we gathered unbiased and reliable insights. We also used Benchmarking scores for evaluating the performance of these Super Bowl Teasers with other teasers from the Food and Beverage Industry.  

Which Super Bowl Ad teaser ranked the best?  

Rank 1

Pringles takes away the chicken dinner for this year’s top-ranked Super Bowl Teaser.  

The respondents were highly influenced by Pringles. The teaser evoked purchase intent amongst the viewers and made them look forward to the upcoming Ad. The overall vibe of the teaser is laid-back, youthful and easygoing. This makes the teaser relatable and easy to remember.

Rank 2

PopCorners-

PopCorners chose the simple way of life. The teaser is simple, easy to understand, has popular characters and displays the product clearly. The respondents were engaged throughout, and the teaser managed to evoke purchase intent.  

Rank 3

Avocados from Mexico

This brand nailed the art of taking a simple product like avocado and weaving a story out of it. The storytelling sets the teaser apart, and even though the positive emotions dipped in between, it quickly picked up at the end.

However, at the end of the day, we are all winners! There is still a lot to learn from the other teasers. Let’s see what they did right and what we can take away from their mistakes!

PLANTERS

This teaser was able to capture the attention of the audience due to the light-hearted conversation between Jeff Ross and Mr. Peanut. But it was not able to sustain it due to confusion and distractions.  

Takeaway- In the storyline, it is important to focus on visibility and not only on adding minute details. The post-it notes and the vanity van door led to a shift in focus from the main characters and the conversation.  

HEINEKEN 0.0

Heineken tried to keep the teaser short and engaging. But the audience failed to connect with the teaser because it ended abruptly and had too much going on. However, the presence and popularity of Ant-Man momentarily caught the attention of the viewers.

Takeaway- The background and the conversation with the ant caused the audience to lose focus on the brand message. Even though the teaser ended abruptly to invoke curiosity, it backfired. The audience did not appreciate the abrupt end, and this was reflected in their engagement and emotional analysis metrics.  

BUDWEISER

Budweiser tries to showcase multiple people from all arrays of life and, at the end, engages the audience by saying, “This Bud’s for you”. But this very idea coupled with low visibility of the product, caused confusion, distraction and low engagement.  

Takeaway- Keeping things simple and centred around minimal characters is the way to go. Letting the audience engage with the product is essential, as brand popularity cannot be taken for granted.

If you want to learn how we deduced these conclusions, stay tuned! There is a detailed analysis with suggestions you can implement in your next campaign upcoming in this article.

In-Depth Analysis of Super Bowl Teasers

# Jeff Ross Gets Ready to Roast Mr. Peanut – PLANTERS

Gaze Plot and Heat Map-

Performance Evaluation –  

Attention:  

The teaser has a high visual appeal. The limited number of characters and light-hearted banter between the comic character and the comedian are interesting and keep the consumers hooked.  

Engagement:  

The teaser overall has constant engagement. This indicates that it is easy to comprehend. But the segment where the peanut is talking from outside the door sees a slight dip in comprehension scores, as the peanut is talking through the glass door, causing the audience to lose connection.

Emotional Analysis:

There is a dip in positive emotions in the initial segment when the comedian is talking about the peanut image on the board, as it comes across as unclear and confusing. However, as the story progresses, the conversation between the peanut cartoon and the comedian is seen to be amusing and light-hearted, leading to a constant increase in positive emotions.

Character Analysis:  

Both the characters have equivalent screen time and appeal. The conversation between them is also jovial, with positive emotions staying constant for both characters.

Element Analysis:  

• The key element ‘Roast Of Mr Peanut’ on the whiteboard has delayed noticeability. Multiple sticky notes create a distraction and take away the gaze from the header of the whiteboard.

• Mr Peanut has frequented but fleeing visual retention.

• Jeff Ross is noticed early on and gets a constant visual span. The conversation with Mr Peanut cartoon at 22s is amusing and garners extended visual gaze and early noticeability.

 # Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania – Heineken 0.0

Gaze Plot and Heat Map

Performance Evaluation

Attention:  

• The visual appeal of the teaser begins to dip as communication between the Ant and Antman progresses. ​
• The brand presence and product presence are less evident.
• The superhero character is popular and supersedes the overall product and brand window​.
• Post the teaser, there is a marginal increase in the appeal at the end when the product and tagline get showcased.

Engagement:  

• The comprehension of the ad is constant as and when the superhero and the ant are conversing​.
• However, in the penultimate segment when Antman leaves the room, is confusing, seems abrupt and leads to a dip in comprehension.
• Brand and Product window, like appeal, also regains comprehension. ​

Emotional Analysis:  

Heineken bottle with a non-alcoholic product is a surprise element, hence as Antman turns the bottle and the close-up is seen, the positive emotions rise.

But the conversation between the ant and Antman seems incoherent. The sheer physicality of the two characters is incompatible, making the conversation between a human and an insect seems absurd.  

This leads to an incline in negative emotions not once but two times. The decline in negative emotions is only during the Brand/ Product window –indicating the appeal of the product.  

Character Analysis:  

The presence of Antman is appealing, making it easy to comprehend the teaser as he converses with the ant who tries to criticize him. This indicates the appeal of the superhero character.  

Element Analysis:  

Antman’s lab is possibly intriguing and hence captures early prolonged attention. Various tools at the back of the wall seem fascinating – thus also evoke high positive emotions.

The background of the lab is a persistent distractor – leading to low focus on the bottle shown in the ad. ​At multiple intervals, the bottle gets delayed noticeability and is low on holding the gaze for an extended duration owing to its small size. ​Moreover, across places, it is only a generic green bottle until it is turned and focused on, leading to a limited visual span. ​

# Big Game 2023 Ad Teaser ( Meghan Trainor) – Pringles

Gaze Plot and Heat Map

Performance Evaluation

Attention:  

The pringles ad is short and has a constant visual appeal because-

• The product window is clear 
• The product interaction with the character is clear 
• Elements: brand name, pack and product are evidently seen 

Engagement:  

The engagement plummets after the character eats the chip. The segment where her hand is stuck in the box is confusing to the audience.  

Emotional Analysis:  

• The teaser peaks in terms of positive emotions when the Meghan Trainor is dancing. The character is shown in a happy mood while eating the chips. This segment resonates well with the audience.  
• But there is a continued decline post the segment 3 – where her hand is stuck in the box and the model is constantly shaking the hand to remove it from the can. It was perceived as annoying to the audience.  

Character Analysis:

Meghan Trainor is the only character in the ad, garners high visual appeal as she comes across as a youthful music lover with a relatable persona. However, her interaction with the product is limited. The scene with a hand getting stuck dampens appeal, indicating low comprehension.

Element Analysis:

• The brand name on the pack, in the closeup shot, is seen clearly and early on but had a very low attention span as the exposure was limited  

• The white font on the yellow box is clear and appealing  
• The large font size also contributes to early noticeability  

# Super Bowl Teaser Feat. Walt and Jesse from Breaking Bad- PopCorners

Gaze Plot and Heat Map

Performance Evaluation

Attention and Engagement:

The ad has a simple storyline making it easy to comprehend and visually appealing. The brand and product presence is prevalent throughout the teaser leading to constant engagement.

Emotional Analysis:

Fewer characters and clear exposure to the packs, brand, and product lead to increasing positive emotions through the teaser. As the story progresses, the negative emotions also reduce, which indicates ease of comprehension and interlinking of characters with the product.

Character Analysis:

• Walt gets more screentime which contributes to better noticeability as compared to Jesse. ​
• The comprehension of the characters and the positive emotion evoked by both characters were similar.  

Element Analysis:

• The characters dominate the ad. Jesse and Walt are noticed early on when the conversation is taking place. However, Walt gets prolonged visibility as he is holding the bright blue pack of crisps and eating out of it while he is talking to his Jesse.  

• In the last shot, where the 3 variants of Popcorners is shown, the green and blue pack get longer visibility as compared to the red. The red seems hidden and causes a drop in noticeability.

# SBLVII Six Degrees of Bud- Budweiser

Gaze Plot and Heat Map

Performance Evaluation

Attention and Engagement:

• The teaser is visually appealing as it got constant attention scores.
• The story and brand presence is constant across various occasions, people and places. But engagement dips at multiple occasions.
• There are too many transitions where only characters are seen, and product detailing/ magnified exposure is low.

• Also, in scenes where the product loses focus, there is a loss of comprehension. Where product is clearly visible; there is an increase in engagement scores  -e.g. Segment 4, Segment 9.  

Emotional Analysis:

• Positive emotions peak at the onset of the teaser, possibly because Budweiser is a popular beer brand. However, as the teaser progresses, there characters are being added, and the product window is subdued, leading to a depletion of excitement and a decline in positive emotions.

• Across the teaser, the negative emotions are high. While engagement in segments is high, the multitude of characters, constant shift in scenes and low product visibility leads to respondents losing connect with the brand and product.

Character Analysis:

Multiple characters carrying the Budweiser pack have high screen time, but no character dominates the teaser. It lacks a strong value addition to the overall story, brand and product.

Element Analysis:

• While visual appeal is high, the comprehension of the character is lowest when the girl with the beer tray and the man in a white t-shirt comes on screen, as the product visibility is minimal.  

• The green shirt man holding the Budweiser bottle, in the end, gets early noticeability and sufficient visual attention as it is the only possible place in the entire teaser where the product and character interaction is clear.

• Budweiser bottle (41s) , at the end of the teaser, is noticed marginally late but gets the highest visual time. It can be attributed to the fact that the consumer’s attention is focused on the bottle, devoid of any human character passing it around. This led to relatively high positive emotions.

• The Budweiser Pack gains low noticeability and attention overall as the characters carry the pack near their knees, leading to low visibility.  

#Big Game Teaser – Avocados From Mexico

Gaze Plot and Heat Map –

Performance Evaluation –

Attention and Engagement:

Visually the teaser is appealing and gets similar attention scores across segments.

• The story shows the evolution of the earth, hence is visually appealing 
• Natural beauty appeals across respondents; therefore, the segment with the clouds and waterfall sees a minor spike in attention
• The engagement levels are stagnant initially but pace post-exposure to avocado  
• As the story progresses, one can see different natural elements emerge, but the context of growing Avocadoes is unknown; thus comprehension remains constant 
• As soon as the fruit is shown, there is a spike in comprehension levels – as it gives context to the key elements of the teaser

Emotional Analysis :

• Both positive and negative emotions are inconsistent. It can be attributed to the avocado coming at the end of the teaser.

• The teaser projects evolution and establishes that Avocadoes from Mexico have been a fruit consumed by Eve – thus led to evolution of mankind which seems slightly far-fetched (because Eve ate an apple not an avocado).
• Having said that, the last frame with the tagline gives closure to the story being built, hence seeing a spike in positive emotions.

Character Analysis:

Anna Faris is the only character in the ad. While the teaser is appealing visually, there is limited comprehension in the context of the ad.

Element Analysis:

• Most elements of nature are noticed early on. However, very few received lengthened visual gaze from the audience.

• Sea water splashing is extensive on the screen and gets undistracted attention. It is also an image which projects a refreshing moment and gets relatively high positive emotions.

• While ‘#Make it better’ gets highest positive emotions, it has delayed noticeability and limited retention as the text of ‘Avocado Of Mexico’ is more colourful and is noticed prior on.

• The key element – Avocado close up is noticed early on. It also has high visual retention, but due to limited screen time, the positive emotions are low.

The Big Teaser Secrets

It is no surprise that creating and airing Super Bowl Ads is an expensive marketing initiative. Teasers create excitement and curiosity in the audience to ensure the ads have the maximum impact. So let’s learn what makes a teaser hit the Bull’s Eye.  

# Less is More

Using our analysis, we found out that the length of the teaser is not of much consequence. Irrespective of the length of the teaser, visual attention and engagement remained constant.  

If brands can capitalize on viewership with a shorter teaser, they can save money, time and resources.  

# Stand Apart

 Avocadoes from Mexico showcase the story of evolution. The source of Mexican Avocados keeps the viewers hooked, resulting in high engagement scores.  

This highlights the importance of focusing on storytelling to garner maximum engagement from the audience.  

# Be Exclusive

Uniqueness is key when it comes to improving brand recall. The way you decide to send across the brand message needs to be distinct so that the teaser is not one among the many teasers for the Super Bowl.  

The best way to foster innovation is by consumer research and pre-testing the teaser before releasing it.  

# Invest in adding a Popular Face

77% of the respondents felt that the presence of a celebrity in the teaser makes them look forward to the full Super Bowl Ad.  

The teasers garnered better retention and evoked higher positive emotions when a celebrity came on screen.  

# Choose the right channels

TV and YouTube were identified to be the most popular channels where the audience looks forward to seeing the Super Bowl Teasers.  

It is important to identify the right source of viewership to maximize the impact of the teasers and increase awareness about the upcoming ad.  

# Add a touch of Fun and Wit

73% of the respondents preferred teasers which were intriguing and had a touch of humor.  

This indicates that to improve brand recall, it is important to have a light-hearted and easygoing flow to the storyline.

Bottom Line  

Teasers are a great way to set invoke anticipation and ensure the success of upcoming ads. But it is also an additional expense. What may seem like an investment may quickly become a reason for the audience to choose a different brand. This makes pre-testing a necessity to ensure you can optimize the teaser and put your best foot forward. Even something as trivial as the length of the teaser can save you millions of dollars and still resonate with your audience. Focusing on story-telling and working towards creating unique and fun content is one of the best ways to improve brand recall and increase awareness.  

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