Super Bowl 2016 aired 62 commercials from 53 different advertisers to 112 million viewers. For the first time in history, Marmot, an outdoor equipment and apparel company, aired a 5 million dollar super bowl commercial. This will also be the introduction to their new mascot... a fuzzy little marmot, that is implied to be male (see the teaser advertisement below, titled "Meet the Marmot Soon: Aah").
This commercial, along with the advertising campaign that it kicked off, caught my attention for several reasons. For starters, I'm an avid outdoor enthusiast working towards a degree in business and marketing. I would one day hope to work for an outdoor equipment company. Marmot is a brand that I am already familiar with, so naturally I am interested in their advertisements. What really sparked my interest on this particular commercial was the controversy surrounding it, the way in which they introduced their mascot, and the approach they used to change their desired audience.
Along with the teaser above, Marmot released two more teasers:
The one above, titled "Meet the Marmot Soon: Campfire," and the one below, "Meet the Marmot Soon: Angels."
It seemed that, between the teasers and Marmot's Super Bowl debut, audiences everywhere were excited to see what Marmot would present. They would soon be... very confused.
The 30 second 5 million dollar commercial (which was more then their entire budget for advertising the previous year) followed the story of a man and his marmot friend on a camping trip. It begins with the friends climbing out of their matching Marmot tents first thing in the morning, to realize they are wearing matching Marmot coats. The song "Friends" by Flight of the Conchords begins to play, which coincides perfectly with the theme of the commercial. As the story continues, the friends do outdoor activities together, such as hiking, swimming and roasting marshmallows. They even make pine needle angels together (as shown in the teaser). Nothing too unusual, other then one being a marmot, of course. The ad ends with the pair watching a sunset.... That's when the story line goes off the beaten path. The man leans over to kiss the marmot... that's when he is slapped and told "I'm not that kind of marmot." Marmot then presents their new advertising slogan "Fall in Love with the Outside."
The ad in its Super Bowl (February 7, 2016) debut entirety lasted 30 confusing seconds. However, Marmot originally made the ad to play for a full minute. The full commercial adds fishing to the activities the friends participate in. It also includes the teaser clip "Meet the Marmot: Aah," to which it is insinuated that the marmot is a male. It is the ending that added to the confusion of the viewers even more. As if you thought that wasn't possible! The story takes a turn when the man tries to kiss the marmot. The marmot still slaps the man, however he says "What the...." and begins kissing the man back. You then see a lot of confused wildlife, such as deer, bears and owls. When the camera goes back to the man and marmot watching the sunset, there's a woman and her daughter looking disgusted and surprised, staring at the friends. This is the way in which Marmot chose to kick off their ad campaign "Fall in Love with the Outside Road Tour."
Typically I would say that the "plain folks" persuasive technique was used in this commercial. However, I'm not sure that a rodent kissing man is considered to be a normal, every day person... I do know, though, that there is a storytelling technique utilized. There's a story of a man and his friend and their outdoor experience that led to....love? I believe that this technique would have been more effectively utilized if it had not involved bestiality.
If Marmot was going for a different approach then other companies, they definitely accomplished their goal. It is safe to say that consumers had not yet seen advertisement like this before! In 2013, Geico released a commercial that created an uproar in regards to bestiality, but it was less.... hands on. Here is that commercial:
There were two main disturbances with the Super Bowl ad that Marmot aired: does it promote bestiality, and is it "one long no-homo joke," as stated by the Washington Post? The reviews show that there is mixed feelings between viewers, but we will get into that later in this post.
The goal of the "Fall in Love with the Outside" campaign was to reach more mainstream retail shoppers (Marmot had a 4% decline in net sales last year). The focus was on simple pleasures in the outdoors versus big adventures. This would reach a whole new demographic. To bring sales back up, the company was attempting to appeal to people who enjoy simple pleasures in the outdoors such as fishing, swimming, hiking, and camping. Not just consumers who go on big adventures, such as backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, tight rope walking, etc. This would help Marmot to expand its shares in mainstream retail and change its focus on the lower income demographics. This commercial shifted the company's focus from the extreme adventurers to encouraging people to just get outdoors and fall in love with it.
The ad presents a strong change in demographics. Adventure Journal posted the commercial on their Facebook page, receiving a comment from one consumer stating "I just simply thought I am no longer their demographic." It shows consumers that, although Marmot is a name brand, they don't just cater to the extreme adventurer, but everyday people. Whether it be a simple camping trip with swimming and fishing, or backpacking into the unknown, Marmot has a product for you! Because of this, and the odd, yet humorous, tactic used, this did engage younger, lower income consumers that I believe was the target audience. The downfall to this ad is that it creates great confusion among its viewers. Sure, the ad shows that Marmot is an outdoor apparel and equipment company, but I think viewers don't understand the point in showing a man kissing a rodent, even if it is his friend. If Marmot was going for a shock factor to make the commercial memorable and talked about, they accomplished their goal! According to adweek.com, tracking technology provided data showing that the ad was the second most engaged ad of the Super Bowl at about 88% engagement, which rated higher then 98.5% of the ads shown.
In addition to the Super Bowl commercial kicking off the campaign "Fall in Love with the Outside Road Tour," Marmot has utilized social media to bring in consumers. The Road Tour presents tent pitching contests, in store events, an insider's guide to every national park in America, live music, craft beer, and meaningful conversations about health benefits of getting outside, even if it's just in your backyard. The campaign is also raising money to help maintain local trails for future generations. All tour dates and stops are announced via Twitter and Facebook for all to see. Social media has also assisted in the spread of the first ever Super Bowl Marmot commercial, with millions of media posts and tweets. On The Mountaineers tweet in regards to the interesting sales pitch, one follower tweeted "Ummmm amazing. Nothing shy of genius."
Besides social media outlets, there's plenty of discussion about the controversial advertising move. People either seem to love it or hate it, but never in between:
The Memphis Daily News reports "This Super Bowl rookie stole the show..." and "Marmot wins on it's storytelling abilities, how well it connects with consumers, how memorable the spot is and the clarity with which it communicates what it sells."
While Forbes.com states "Puzzled viewers probably won't be running out in the cold to buy an outdoor jacket after that."
The Chicago Tribune and Washington Post ranked Marmot's advertising technique as one of the worst ads, while The Oregonian dubbed it one of the best.
Performics.com claims "Marmot was one of the few Super Bowl advertiser brand keywords that broke into Google's top 20 searches during or directly after the game."
Tvline.com displayed pole results for Marmot's unique advertising strategy as follows:
- Awesome 20.55%
- Very Good 28.24%
- It was OK 28.85%
- Subpar 10.82%
- Fail 11.54%
Based off the ad, I would probably not check out the company and all it has to offer. Sure, they offer outdoor equipment and apparel for those that like the simple outdoor activities. Unfortunately, that just doesn't make me want to jump up and see what exactly they have to offer. I wouldn't recommend the brand to others either. On the flip side, I wouldn't tell them not to check it out. In the end, though, I have shown the ad to people. Marmot has that going for them at least.
Based off Marmot's unusual choice of advertising techniques, I've drawn the conclusion that going with a memorable commercial does in fact add more advertising. If you didn't watch the Super Bowl and see the commercial air, it's okay because I'm sure somewhere, somehow, you either saw it or heard about it anyways.
I've learned a lot from examining this particular marketing strategy. There are many ways to get your name or product out there to people that probably wouldn't have heard about what you have to offer. Even if it is a controversial choice of advertising, in the end, consumers will hear your name. That, in itself, is advertisement.
When I took a closer look at marketing techniques and specific advertisement strategies, I found myself looking at every companies commercials in a whole new light. Who would've thought about how the ads we see are created, or why? I sure didn't! I find myself wondering how I can market a product or a company name differently then how they chose to. Maybe that's just because of the career path I have chosen for myself. Maybe it's because I'm curious to see what I, myself, could come up with. In the end, the challenge is accepted....
Below are a few links to blogs that spoke of Marmot's fascinating advertisement techniques:
I liked how you picked a commercial that was something meaningful to you. It gives a different perspective when it's something you like rather than just a random commercial you found. I agree with you about how there could be a metaphor for camping with a friend even though this friend happens to be a four legged animal. The fact that it is a four legged animal rather than a human makes it a commercial that stands out. Other camping and outdoors supplies commercials often create commercials that all seem similar or simply use still picture ads. Although, I do see how it could create quite an uproar with some people because they relate it to bestiality. It makes me wonder if the company had thought that it was a possibility that people would think this way.
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