Lessons Learned from Super Bowl 50

A New Slant On Food Marketing, and it was Great!

The reviews of the Super Bowl, its halftime show and even its commercials have not been very complimentary  – however there is one standout that the food world, and all its advertising, PR, social media and marketing folks need to pay attention to. And while I loved the Heinz family dachshunds spot that wasn’t the one, it was the one that played off air and on your mobile device.

The California Avocado Commission was brilliant and showed us the future of food marketing and connecting to shoppers – especially those elusive Millenials and Gen zers. Every time a food or beverage ad aired during the Super Bowl, regardless of the brand or type of food or beverage, they posted a video on Twitter showing how California Avocados would pair with other foods—everything from Budweiser beer to Mars’ Snickers candy bars.

Thie agency, MullenLowe developed nine recipe vides that were fun, fast paced and made the food pairings look delicious. The combo of Chef Cassandre Bailleau and Creative Director Margaret Keene made magic. "Our big epiphany was swapping out butter for creamy California Avocados," Keene told Adweek. "Then the recipes really came together. It became a crazy, impromptu cooking show. We kept challenging her with ingredients like Skittles, Budweiser, and Pepsi, and she magically made the recipes delicious."

This a best practices for food brands, and food retailers, especially those with one-hour delivery or those connected to Instacart should be inspired and quickly follow California Avocado's lead.  The lesson learned is that they way to drive impulse purchases have changed - the how, where and why; and that by being proactive in real time with unique fun ideas you can build sales with just the touch of a button on your mobile device.