The Super Bowl is almost upon us…. supposedly a football game will be played or something. I don’t know, with my Eagles out of contention, again… I kind of lost track of who’s still in contention.

Sarcasm aside, the Super Bowl is also known as much for what goes on the field as it is for what happens off it… and more specifically in your living room, on your computer, on your phone or whatever screen you happen to watch it on.  I am referring of course to the cattle call of TV advertising as companies both large and not-so-large show off their (and their ad agency’s) best and in most cases, their newest :30 spot – which this year will cost on average $3 million just to air.

Add in the creative, production and media costs and you’re looking at one very large investment.

And those forking over all that cash will surely want a nice return on their investment.  The key of course will be to create something that will resonate with the nearly 90 million viewers who will be tuned in to watch; to leave the viewer entertained yet also informed at the same time; to leave them wanting to buy your product, service or ware.
That’s a lot of pressure to come up with something that will last all of thirty seconds. As one who has worked on a Super Bowl spot, I know full the well the kinds of pressure I refer to…
So, with that in mind, I wanted to throw this query out there…What makes a TV commercial memorable?

And as a follow up, is it the commercial itself you remember or the product or both?
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