#loosends

One brand testing the waters for the first time this year is Pringles. The potato chip subsidiary of Kellogg's announced in December it planned to get in on the action and recently offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse into just what it will be doing.

PRINGLES STACKS ITS CHIPS ON SUPER BOWL AD: A new Pringles commercial debuting during the Super Bowl will be the the potato chip company's first during the big game.

Pringles is working with the New York City-based agency Grey Group on the Super Bowl spot and the ad will feature "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Bill Hader. Grey Group reportedly developed the idea while eating the stackable chips in the office.

“The Pringles Super Bowl advertisement is an opportunity to show people a fun, new way to enjoy their favorite Pringles flavors with their family and friends,” Yuvraj Arora, Kellogg’s U.S. Snacks’ senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement released by the company.

Some longtime advertisers in recent years have shied from airing Super Bowl ads due to the cost, while other brands view it as an opportunity to kick-start the advertising year with a new campaign or showcase their product before a global audience.

"For advertisers, it says that what they are doing is exciting [and for] brands, it sends a very strong signal to their partners and competitors that they are invested and committed in their brand," Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, told Forbes a few years back.

Calkins and students in Kellogg's Marketing Club annually review the ads, analyzing winners and losers according to six criteria. Together, they review how each brand's spots hold up in terms of attention, distinction, positioning, linkage, amplification and net equity.

"Having a compelling benefit is critical," Calkins said on the club's website. "If you are going to have an impact on sales, you need to give people a reason to buy."

While other outlets generally review the ads based on overall appeal, what separates the review Calkins and his students perform is its analysis of core business questions, he wrote in a LinkedIn post.

"The panel considers whether each ad has sound strategy that is likely to build the business and build the brand and [then looks at] whether the strategy comes through in the execution in an impact manner," Calkins wrote.

He described each part of what the club's coined the "ADPLAN" criteria as follows:

Attention ‒ Does the ad break through the clutter? If an ad doesn’t attract some attention, it risks having limited impact. The first task for a piece of communication is to get people to pay attention.

Distinction ‒ Is the execution different? If one ad looks like all the other ads in a category, it won’t do much. It might even help the competition.

Positioning ‒ The position of a brand should come through. That is, the ad should appeal to a target with a compelling message and/or benefit.

Linkage ‒ Strong advertising creates a link between the brand and the creative message. The goal is for people to remember the creative idea and then connect it to the brand.

Amplification ‒ What will people remember and play back? What will they amplify? Ideally, this will be positive and connected to the brand. However, almost every year, some brands will go too far and their advertising dollars will produce ill will with consumers.

Net Equity ‒ A piece of communication should build off the existing equity of a brand. If there is a disconnect between the message and the brand, people may be confused.

The 2017 results had this Mr. Clean ad at the top of the list. Calkins said the commercial was an "enormous breakthrough" for the Procter & Gamble subsidiary and that it displayed "exceptional branding."

For more on the annual review, see the website.

LEARN MORE

Explore these links to learn more about marketing, Super Bowl ads and what to look out for during the big game.

Sport Illustrated ranks its five favorite 2017 Super Bowl ads

Newsday explores some ads worth watching at Super Bowl LII

iSpot curates promos and teasers for the Super Bowl LII commercials

Adweek looks at NBC's big payday with its TV rights to the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics

Mr. Clean ad image courtesy of Procter & Gamble.