Was that Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart … on a commercial with TV Hall of Famer Andrea Kremer … in a spot for Cure Auto Insurance … during the Super Bowl? Watch it here!
What in the name of the highest-priced TV time of the year is going on?
If you ask CURE CEO Eric Poe, it’s about creating a marketing bonanza that comes
from taking advantage of a unique opportunity.
Let’s set the scene: At the start of halftime, you did see a CURE Auto ad featuring Dart
and Kremer. As long as you live north of Trenton.
Those who live in South Jersey saw a CURE ad featuring Eagles star Saquon Barkley.
And those in Detroit saw one for Jahmyr Gibbs.
Confused? Stay with us.
Each Super Bowl, the NFL makes a few 30-second spots available to a local advertiser
in the more than 200 television markets around the country. Dividing the reach among
all the affiliates means the league can more than make up for what they get for a single
national buy.
And it affords executives like Poe a chance to be a part of the most-watched event of
the year.
Poe, who has grabbed a spot for 15 years running, said it’s worth every penny — even
if he isn’t allowed to disclose just how many pennies he spends.
“When you track the actual number of calls that come in, there’s definitely a justification
for it,” he said.
It has been that way for years, which is why Poe has increased his buy from one market
in year one to three (CURE does nearly half of its sales in Michigan).
The number of ad spots isn’t the only thing that has changed over the years.
CURE used to be known for putting out some of the funniest — and sometimes risqué
— ads.
No more.
“A few years ago, when the political climate became challenging, getting the networks to
even approve our commercials became more daunting,” he said.
Keep in mind, the NFL has a firm hold on all aspects of the game. Including the
approval of all ads.
Poe said the network can bounce an ad — or part of an ad — even a few days before it
airs.
This year, CURE had to re-edit one small part of its ad with Dart. Not a big deal. And
nothing like what would be needed to reshoot an entire ad.
“Imagine if we did something really funny and it was rejected,” he said. “That’s why
commercials for the Super Bowl have changed so much lately.
“They used to be a lot funnier. Now, everybody’s toned it down. They’re very vanilla.”
Unless you can find a new spark — and Poe feels he’s found that with athletes.
Poe said he’s been incredibly impressed with Dart.
“Before I met him, I thought he might be a little showboaty,” he said. “But once you meet
him, he’s the nicest guy. Humble. Down to Earth. Talking to everybody. You would have
no idea that he’s the starting quarterback of the Giants.”
Or a wannabe actor.
Dart’s professionalism impressed him, too.
“Jaxson is very composed, very dedicated,” he said.
“The common denominator about all these athletes is that, even though it’s acting and
they don’t necessarily have any training, they take it very seriously and are very hard on
themselves when they don’t get their lines correct.
“They care more than you think. They are very hard on themselves. You can see why
they are such great athletes because they want to be perfect at what they are doing.”
Then there’s the actual professional, Kremer, who has been an on-air sports reporter for
decades.
Poe was introduced to her by a friend of a friend — and couldn’t believe how nice she
was, too.
“We had the serendipitous scenario where Andrea was available,” he said. “She was
great to have on the ad.”
Of course, none of this matters if there isn’t a proper return on the ad investment.
Poe isn’t worried.
The long history of advertising on the Super Bowl has shown him the calls have come
in. And, since a new regulation has raised the auto insurance rates for every carrier,
more people than normal are shopping around.
Poe is confident they will like what they hear from CURE.
“This type of market disruption helps us,” he said. “When people shop around, they
discover us and our value.”
That makes the value of this year’s Super Bowl ad even greater than ever, Poe said.
“We know it’s going to be great for business,” he said.
