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Super Clio Commissioner Rob Reilly Looks at Big Game Commercials
Apple, Tide, Lady Gaga, 'Michael CeraVe' and more
Oh my, Super Bowl season is upon us. So, we asked WPP global creative chairman Rob Reilly to weigh in on the enduring spectacle of Big Game ads.
Reilly has served as non-voting commissioner of the Super Clio since its 2015 inception. The award, selected by a jury of industry pros, honors the year’s best SB commercial.
When did you first realized Super Bowl ads were something special?
I was obsessed with advertising when I was in college. The “Bud Bowl” made me think, “Man, this is a whacked business where people get paid to come up with this insanity.”
Is Apple’s “1984” the greatest SB ad of all time? If not, which one gets your vote?
It is hard to argue with significance of “1984.” But for the modern creative, “It’s a Tide Ad” from a few years ago showed the way forward—a brand could truly hijack the entire game.
Talk about your fave Big Game ads you’ve ever worked on.
Back in my Crispin, Porter + Bogusky days, we partnered with director Bryan Buckley to create the “Whopperettes.” It was shot in Rio. We had to teach hundreds of non-English-speaking actresses and dancers to sing in English and build themselves into human Whoppers. It was wild.
I also loved the media hack McCann did with Lady Gaga and the National Geographic show Genius. We had Geoffrey Rush (who played Einstein) riff on the last song Gaga played during halftime (“Bad Romance”), straight after her performance ended. It won the Super Clio that year. It was an Eric Silver special.
Lastly, Michael Cera for CeraVe was a masterclass in social-first Super Bowl campaigns.
How did you get involved with Super Clio? Discuss its relevance.
[Clio Awards CEO] Nicole Purcell is a good friend of mine and I serve on the Clio board. Over a decade ago, we hatched a plan to create the Super Clio to counter the USA Today Ad Meter. It was designed to be judged by industry pros versus the public. I was pissed that the Eminem Chrysler spot finished so low on the Ad Meter the year before. That was a winner.
Maybe there’s an ad or two from recent games you think are the most underrated?
I am not sure this is underrated, but you sometimes forget the spots from brands that year after year do something pretty great:
Super Bowl campaigns have evolved from just in-game :30s—CeraVe and FanDuel are prime examples. What lessons does the Big Game teach in terms of creating “events” vs. just running spots?
The best ideas can launch weeks before and last months after the game. But the Super Bowl is the only event where what we do for brands is on an equal playing field with the program we are sponsoring. It is our Academy Awards.
