Forget The Game, Brands on Twitter Were The Real Winners of Super Bowl XLVIII

February 3, 2014 | Blog | By Lightbox

Who here likes watching event television? Go ahead; raise your hand, I’ll wait. Just in case you were wondering my hand is raised too which, coincidentally, is making it very hard to type.

If you are curious about the parameters of event television allow me to explain. It is epic TV programming that comes around once a year. It is something that will be talked about for weeks to come, and when asked about it the next day, you want to say you watched.

This includes programming like The Grammys, The Oscars, and most recently The Super Bowl.

With the introduction of social media a growing trend has developed in event television. People are not only watching live, but also following along on Twitter and Facebook.

With everyone sharing in this experience a new kind of marketing has been brought to light. I’m talking about real time marketing. This is when brands have some fun and try to cash in on memorable moments from the night. The hope is that their funny or quick witted posts will go viral. It’s a way to get exposure without having to pay for said exposure.

Last year the memorable moment came when the stadium went dark after the half time show. Fans, celebrities, and brands took to Twitter to discuss. The undisputed winner was Oreo who left us with this tweet:

This year was no different. In honor of some of the brands clever thinking I have put together some of the most talked about real time marketing during Super Bowl XLVIII.

Oreo

Oreo took the high road and quit before the game even started. Besides after last year, nothing could top that.

JCPenney

The social media team had some fun with their hashtag #TweetingWithMittens. After more than a few misspellings many fans wondered if their page had been taken over by a party goer after a few too many beers. We soon learned they were just promoting their “Go USA” mittens.

DiGiorno Pizza

Everyone’s favorite grocery store pizza brand had a little fun at the Broncos expense. During the third quarter they sent out this tweet to their followers:

Buffalo Wild Wings

The restaurant chain, whose commercials are based on the fact that they have a secret button to prolong games, took to twitter to express what most of us were feeling.

There were a lot of great moments this year, which made an otherwise dull game a little more exciting. Who do you think took the top spot from Oreo?