Rich Zeoli Talks To Former Apple CEO About This Year's Super Bowl Ads
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Rich Zeoli talked to the former President of Pepsi and CEO Apple, John Sculley, about this year's Super Bowl ads on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.
Sculley explained that companies are looking to create something that leaves a lasting impression with the audience and the popular culture.
"The first mega-commercial was one that I was actually involved with which was the one we created to launch the Macintosh in 1984 and it stopped the world because the network effect, long before we knew anything about the internet, of people just talking about it ended up with networks running it over and over, we got $45 Million of free advertising, yet we only spent $1 Million for the commercial time itself. The real affect is, you want to engage people, you want to have shock value that's entertaining and people will talk about it. That's what makes these commercials special."
He pointed out that Nationwide made a poor in running a somber and morbid ad during an event where most viewers are at parties.
"They missed what the Super Bowl is all about. The Super Bowl is the biggest extravaganza of entertainment that we have in a year, so people are there because they want to have a good time. To pick a serious subject like that, children dying and missing life, it's just the wrong place to be doing something like that."
Sculley was impressed with the ads produced by Coca-Cola and Pepsico and with how they are negotiating changing views of their products.
"What's challenging for the soft-drink companies is that people are concerned about obesity. They're concerned about the calories you get from snacks and beverages. They're concerned about plastic bottles and what they do to the environment. It's pretty challenging now for these high profile snack food and beverage companies to be able to deal with a very, very different set of values that people have today."
