3 Things We Learnt from Super Bowl 2022 & The Role of Innovative Tech!
In the world of sports and entertainment, there are very few events which are bigger than the Super Bowl! The Super Bowl is the final game of the United States National Football League (NFL) season, where two teams face off to become the new world champion! This year, for the Super Bowl 2022, the world watched as the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals battled it out at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California!
However, in addition to the game itself, the Super Bowl has become infamous for hosting some the best entertainment and debuting blockbuster marketing campaigns during the halftime break. This year also saw a plethora of innovative technology which took the world by storm!
In this blog, we’re exploring how innovative technology stole the show at the Super Bowl 2022 and discuss our 3 favourite moments!
1. QR Codes are More Popular Than Ever Before!
One of the biggest talking points at the Super Bowl came during the commercials of the infamous half time break. In recent years, the Super Bowl commercials (aka Super Bowl ads) have become a cultural phenomenon alongside the game itself! Many spectators will only watch the game so that they can see blockbuster commercials from global mega brands featuring cinematographic videography, celebrity cameos, and awe-inspiring creativity.
This year was no acceptation as one particular ad created by Coinbase became one of the biggest discussion points of the whole event. The 60-second advert almost entirely showcased a simple colourful QR code bouncing around the screen bringing back memories of the old-school bouncing DVD logo. Once scanned by users, the digital code redirected users to Coinbase’s website, offering a promotional offer as well as the chance to enter a competition worth three million dollars!
Within moments of the ad being aired, it was estimated that over 117 million people engaged with the QR code and tried to access Coinbase’s website.
Sounds like a roaring success, right? Well… no, not exactly…
Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of worldwide users all scanning the QR code at the same time, this led to Coinbase’s website to crash, leaving many extremely disappointed. However, despite the initial teething problems, this advert has been acknowledged as one of the most memorable ads of the evening and has been highly praised for its creativity, simplicity, and interactivity.
According to our App Developer James Cherry,
“Coinbase have really utilised the fact that since the pandemic, EVERYONE knows how to use a QR code.
It was an incredibly bold idea for Coinbase to strip everything back (including the overall branding) and the campaign as a whole reminds me of a creative idea which we have for a mixed reality exhibition later this year.”
2. Is Mixed Reality is the Future of Live Music?
In addition to the ads, the Super Bowl is famous for hosting some the best live musical performances and entertainment during the halftime break! This year was no acceptation as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar all took centre stage to perform a collection of their greatest hits.
However, in addition to this mid-game performance fans also had the opportunity to watch a virtual performance from legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Foo Fighters! Hosted by Meta & Oculus, fans had the opportunity to virtually tune into this concert and get up close with the band.
This wasn’t the first time that the Super Bowl has dabbled in mixed reality. Back in 2021, Super Bowl Sponsors Pepsi Co collaborated with augmented reality specialists Happy Giant and VRM Aircards to develop an AR portal which featured global artist, The Weekend. This exciting experience was activated from QR codes on Pepsi cans throughout North America, as well as a QR code featured on-screen during the Super Bowl. Once scanned, users could access features including an immersive 360 livestream, custom 3D models and additional exclusive features!
According to our Creative Lead Jack Milson,
“Over the past few years, we have seen huge artists in the entertainment industry begin to utilise innovative new technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality allowing artists to create new forms of entertainment and content we couldn’t have previously imagined.
With the Metaverse on the horizon, we imagine that virtual concerts such as these examples at the Super Bowl will soon become common practice for many global artists”
3. Don’t be like Larry!
In addition to Coinbase’s Super Bowl ad, another video which caught the attention of our marketing team was by cryptocurrency exchange business FTX, which featured legendary comedian Larry David. Throughout the advert, Larry can be seen mocking some of humanity’s greatest innovations including the wheel, the lightbulb, and the Walkman. The advert closes with Larry David rejecting the FTX app, followed by the tagline “Don’t be like Larry. Don’t miss out on the next big thing.”
Whilst this tagline was aimed at the future role of cryptocurrency trading, our team believe that this tagline perfectly summarises the overall impact which innovative technology has played at the Superbowl 2022.
According to our Digital Marketing Executive Pete English,
“Whilst many people have since discussed the overwhelming success of Coinbase’s QR code ad, to me I think that there is an equally incredibly important lesson to be learnt from FTX’s ad campaign.
In one evening, people from all around the globe have engaged with the Super Bowl using latest innovative technology including QR codes, immersive mixed reality, and a plethora of creative and immersive marketing campaigns.
I firmly believe that it is incredibly important for individuals and businesses alike to embrace and engage with all the latest innovative technology and not miss out on awe inspiring experiences such as these. Because the unfortunate truth is that is you don’t keep up with the latest trends in technology, you’re going to be left behind and potentially loose an innovative and highly engaging channel of communication with stakeholders.
Based on the overarching success of innovative tech at the Super Bowl, I really hope that users and businesses are ready to jump on the tech band waggon and begin to embrace and engage with the latest innovative technology.
As summarised by FTX, don’t be like Larry, don’t miss out on the next big thing!”
Summary
With all this tech, it’s easy to forget that there was an actual game of NFL Football played … Did you watch Super Bowl 2022? If so, we’d love to know what were your favourite parts were? Let us know in the comments below!
