This post was created in partnership with Zappi
Landing a spot in the Big Game involves much more than a single commercial. The most effective campaigns are built on months of preparation, internal alignment, and an always-on strategy that works long before the first kickoff.
During an ADWEEK House: The Big Game panel co-hosted with Zappi, industry leaders discussed how brands can move beyond the one-and-done mindset to build integrated marketing campaigns that drive long-tail impact.
Grounding creative in distinctive assets
Effective campaigns start by identifying the core elements that make a brand recognizable. For snack brand Pringles, that meant focusing on the can, the man, and the crisp to create a concept that felt both functional and culturally relevant.
“The idea is something that only Pringles could do, and that is why we love it,” said Sarah Reinecke, SVP, salty portfolio and brand at Mars Snacking. “Sabrina Carpenter was an incredible celebrity for it. It fits her brand as well. And she really, we thought, gave it the cultural spin that the Super Bowl needed for us.”
The goal is to move beyond a simple celebrity cameo and find a concept that balances brand effectiveness with fame-making novelty. For the Big Game, Reinecke added, “You want to be effective for your brand. You want to stand out and make your brand more famous. And of all the concepts that we saw, this was one that really peaked on both of those dimensions.”
The multiyear journey to sponsorship
In highly regulated categories like spirits, the path to the Big Game is often a years-long exercise in advocacy and social responsibility. Brands have to build trust with the league and consumers through long-term commitments before they ever air a traditional ad.
“Our journey to the Super Bowl actually started about a decade ago,” explained Jim Ruane, SVP, lead brands at Diageo. “In 2016, I worked with the NFL to create a social responsibility campaign about responsible drinking. So, Diageo’s first-ever spirits ad in the NFL was not product- or brand-based at all. It was about water breaks and taking hydration breaks to moderate your drinking.”
Five years later, Diageo became the official spirit sponsor of the NFL in 2021.
This historical context transforms the Big Game from a one-time event into a catalyst for year-round engagement. “Sponsorship of the NFL and the Super Bowl is sort of a payoff, not a peak,” Ruane noted.
“For us, it’s about fast follow, so we want to make sure that we can harness the noise that we create all throughout the football season,” he added.
Prioritizing systems over sizzle
The shift in modern marketing moves focus away from isolated viral hits toward a robust operating system fueled by connected insights. Brands use this data to de-risk their biggest investments and ensure their messaging resonates across every touch point.
