Understanding How The Owls Took Charge

The Super Bowl is the biggest night in network television. Billions of families across America tune in to watch the most exciting football game of the season. The day consists of men yelling at the TV, Pinterest-inspired snacks, Buffalo wings, an over-the-top halftime show and commercials that will be buzzed about for weeks to come. However, this Super Bowl consisted of something completely new: this year there were owls. For the first time ever, Temple University aired a commercial during the Super Bowl. Regardless of whether you loved or hated Temple’s commercial, here are some important points to know about Temple’s ad.

The actual commercial- In case you were replenishing your plate with cliché Super Bowl food, Temple’s commercial aired during the fourth quarter of the game. It was a 30 second spot that depicted the Temple community doing different things. Band members practiced music, basketball players made slam dunks, professors lectured, students cheered at concerts and commuters hopped on the subway. The last shot featured Temple’s favorite owl, Stella, next to the caption “Take Charge.”

The cost- The average cost of running a 30 second national spot during the Super Bowl is about 4.5 million dollars. However, Temple was able to buy a regional spot for under 200,000 dollars and NBC will air the commercial for the next three weeks.

The background- This campaign was created by Temple University’s Marketing and Communications Department.  The first phase was launched in October 2014. The premiere of the Super Bowl ad marked the second phase of this campaign. This commercial was shot with two different endings: one with Stella and one with Morgan Hall in the Philly skyline. Temple posted both of the commercials online and asked viewers to vote for which one they wanted to see in the Super Bowl.

Why?- According to Temple’s data, 89 percent of the 300,000 TU alumni are not engaged with the school. The purpose of this commercial, and campaign for that matter, is to generate awareness of how strong Temple has grown to be. The marketing team wanted to air the commercial when they knew alumni would be tuned in to the TV.

Temple Made or Take Charge? - Some students were confused after seeing Take Charge splashed across their TVs. Some believed Temple was going through an identity crisis. Are students supposed to be “Temple Made” or are they supposed to “Take Charge”? Well, the answer is both! This new campaign is not designed to erase the Temple Made campaign. In fact, “Take Charge” is a branch of the “Temple Made” campaign. The messages are designed to coincide with each other. Yes, Temple students are self-made, Philly-made and Temple-made, but they are also ready to step up, take charge and make things happen. In other words, Temple students learn how to be self-sufficient (self-made) in school so when they graduate from Temple they are ready to “take charge.”

Do you think the “Take Charge” commercial stacked up to the other Super Bowl commercials? Do you believe it was an affective form of advertising? Share your comments below!  

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Lauren Bentley.

Super Bowl Commercials: More Interesting than the Game?

Last night, the 49th Super Bowl was played by the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, with the Patriots winning 28-24. Many will attribute this win to an interception on the one-yard line by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler. But something I realized during the game, and confirmed with many of the people watching with me, was that they cared more about the commercials than the actual game.

I was sitting next to one of my roommates, watching the game, when I happened to glance over at him, and noticed he looked a bit strained. Asking him if he was okay, he replied, "I need to use the bathroom, but I am waiting for the game to come back on so I don't miss any of the ads!" As he said this, a few other people around us nodded their heads, some saying they didn't know or didn't care who was playing, but only cared about the quality of the commercials. I realized in myself that unless my home team (the Eagles!) were playing, I cared more about the ads than the game. Especially in the last four or five years, the Super Bowl is known as the place for big companies to release their best ads. Many companies will save an ad, keeping it secret, just for this night. As far as public relations goes, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched events, if not the most watched events in the United States. Even though it costs upwards of $1 million to air something, on a cost per thousand viewers basis, it is more than worth it. Especially now, when so many people just watch to see and talk about the ads.

One of my personal favorites was the ad for Clash of Clans, a mobile app game, featuring Liam Neeson, a actor known for many movies, but most recently the Taken movies. Clash of Clans has had a lot of very clever advertising in the last few months, the TV commercials are always really funny, and I see their ads on the subway, on buses, and on taxis. You can watch the commercial below. The Budweiser commercial, featuring the puppy and Clydesdale horses from previous years was another favorite, along with the 'Like a Girl' ad by Always.

This post was authored by Faiz Mandviwalla, the Director of Finance for PRowl Public Relations. Follow him on Twitter here. 

The PR of Commercials and Football

Today, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will take the field and play in the NFL's 49th annual Super Bowl. The Super Bowl takes on the traits of a holiday for football lovers across the country. We throw parties for friends and family, stocked with wings. fries, and brews. Not to mention, the stigma surrounding Super Bowl commercials and who can create the best one.

Public Relations happens all around the Super Bowl. There are five obvious outlets:

• NFL
• New England Patriots
• Seattle Seahawks
• all brands with placed commericals

Though the commercials of the Super Bowl are the works of advertising, the discussion each individual commercial creates is a PR situation. For instance, GoDaddy intended on releasing a commercial during the Super Bowl, but found that the public opinion was not on their side, and decided to remove the commercial. The ad seemed to be mocking Bud Light for their use of an adorable blonde Labrador in their Super Bowl commercials every year. The ad shows a puppy getting lost after falling off of its owners' truck and finding his way back home, just to have the owners proclaim that they can't wait to sell the pup online thanks to GoDaddy.

Many found the advertisement insensitive, while GoDaddy thought its audience would laugh. The PR decision was to make a statement revoking the commercial and announcing that the public will still see GoDaddy on screen during the big event. GoDaddy left their audience with a little mystery.

Check out the Super Bowl tonight, and expect to see a lot of PR talk about the Half Time Show and advertisments come tomorrow morning!