Chrysler’s Bob Dylan Commerical Failure
What should have been a stroke of marketing genius ended up being a huge failure for Chrysler. Perfectly timed, their elegant spot featuring Bob Dylan was aimed toward the end of the third quarter of the Seahawks-Denver Super Bowl. This is usually when a game starts heating up, and it’s prime viewing time for some of the best commercials viewers will see all year.
The reason? People are finished stuffing themselves with all the food, they’re done talking about how great or how awful the halftime show was, and the betting has stopped. Usually, a matchup between two conference champions means the game is still pretty tight in the third quarter. Brilliantly, Chrysler decided to feature Dylan, iconic rock singer, dropping $16 million on the ads.
It should have been perfect. People should have been tuned in, rapt, wondering how the game will turn out. But this year’s Super Bowl was a blowout by the time the Bob Dylan ads aired, with Seattle up 36-0. By that time, most people had given up watching the game and were socializing or heading home early. Unlike last year’s tight race between Baltimore and San Francisco, this game was a real snore. Showing Dylan at the same time in last year’s game would have gone over perfectly.
So, did the Seahawks cost Chrysler $16 million by blowing out the Broncos? Or does that fault fall to the Broncos, instead? We can hardly blame the Seahawks for playing well. It’s unwise to pull your punches in the biggest game of the year, especially when comebacks are common and the teams are evenly matched. Denver has the number one offense in the NFL this year, so who can blame the Seahawks for not playing their best?
It’s unfortunate that an iconic figure like Bob Dylan wasn’t viewed by the optimal number of football fans. Many people watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials, and the timing of this sneak attack by Chrysler would have been a real coup, if only the unthinkable hadn’t happened and Denver had put up a real fight. If this had been a typical Super Bowl, the plan would have gone off without a hitch.
Instead, Chrysler may have wasted millions of dollars on a commercial that wasn’t seen as widely as it should have been. Sure, people can still see the commercial, and Dylan lovers certainly will seek it out, but it won’t have the desired effect. But to blame the Seahawks for winning? Maybe it’s more appropriate to blame the Broncos for losing.
