by Autumn Grace Peterson, Account Associate
It’s advertisers’ favorite holiday: the Super Bowl. As the 2018 Super Bowl unfolded, I was reminiscing about past advertising.
Of all of the ads ever in Super Bowl history, one stood out among the crowd. I guarantee if you were to mention this commercial to a group of people you would still get a reaction, which is an agency’s dream. The ad that I am referencing is, drumroll please… Puppymonkeybaby.
You now probably know the reaction you would expect to receive from a group of people is a collective groan, followed by complaints about how annoying the 30-second spot was.
Hold up! Before dismissing the bit completely, I would suggest that the ad was a success.
What? Huh? The commercial where a monstrosity comprised of baby legs, a pug’s wrinkly face and a monkey’s torso clad in only a diaper that fist-pumped a rattle while pestering us with his name to a beat… was a success??
Seriously! I firmly believe the commercial accomplished what it set out to. Let me list the top three reasons Puppymonkeybaby was a success.
- It was a product launch.
Puppymonkeybaby was one of the top three branded hashtags used during the 2016 Super Bowl—which meant consumers were responding directly to the #puppymonkeybaby call to action. What more could a company want than for viewers to be talking about their new product launch?
- It spoke to the target audience.
When you bring up this ad to a collection of your co-workers, you shouldn’t expect them to exclaim, “Man! I loved that ad! I still pull it up and marvel at it weekly!” That would be concerning because they are not the target audience. Mountain Dew’s target demographic is boys who are not yet at the age to consume hard beverages. A weird creature that is a cocktail of viral things (puppies, monkeys, and babies) is pretty meme-worthy and exactly the type of thing that is popular right now amongst this demographic. Re-watch this ad and pay attention to the set. The table has a video game accessory on it. The boys are dressed as casually as their hearts desire. It all screams stereotypical, teenage boy.
- It is memorable.
If it wasn’t the irritating, catchy beat that stuck with people, it was the ad itself. Puppymonkeybaby rose above the crowd on TV’s most popular night, making it memorable to this day.
You don’t have to like it, but I think Puppymonkeybaby is owed at least a respectful head nod. Let’s talk about it! Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments belowJ