As far as Bottle Rocket Media is concerned, it is never out of fashion to take a risk when creating your next brand video. With Super Bowl LIII coming up, it is the perfect time to shine a spotlight on a few impactful examples from brands that aren’t afraid to think outside the box.

One of the most important elements to a successful brand video, whether it’s a $1M commercial on network television or a $5K infomercial on YouTube, is memorability – and what could be more memorable than Cindy Crawford as a perspiring damsel in distress, a muddy Betty White playing tackle football, b-ball giants Michael Jordan and Larry Bird going head to head, or those famous Budweiser frogs croaking away (gone, but not missed)?

No matter which team wins, every February the Super Bowl gives sports fans an extra experience to remember by including ads from some of the world’s most well-known brands, who vie for the coveted opportunity to broadcast their latest wares in front of millions. In fact, the competition over the years has become so great, the annual event has corralled an extra audience of viewers who tune in primarily to watch commercials, and consider the game a secondary form of entertainment.

Here at Bottle Rocket Media we all have our personal favorites – classics and newcomers alike that have influenced our creativity through unconventionality and smart video production:

2018 Super Bowl “Tide Ad” Commercial Compilation

Just last year, on the heels of his newfound Stranger Things fame, David Harbour was brilliantly cast in a series of Tide ads that aired in succession throughout the Super Bowl. This was not your traditional, 30-something-mom-in-middle-America running-a-busy-household-but-can-barely-get-her-whites-white type of campaign. No, this was more like an acid trip through the head of a person both obsessed with bright clean clothes and, well, David Harbour; see him float on a cloud, dominate a group of senior citizens in tennis, and sit astraddle a horse next to the guy from the Old Spice commercials. Sound nutsy? It is. And memorable.

2000/2001 Super Bowl “Whassup?” Campaign from Budweiser

To be honest, we are not all in agreement on this one. Some of us find this concept absolutely irritating, while some of us still cannot get enough of this award-winning campaign that began in 1999, with a major airing during the next two following years’ Super Bowls. In case you missed it, the original, fairly low-budget commercials featured a bunch of “dudes” calling each other up and exclaiming “Whassup!!!” Yep. That’s about it—no boring dissertation on hops, barley or malt and no cheesy overacting by airbrushed models in a random bar. By having fun, showing a sense of humor, and specifically playing to the audience watching the game, the brand stepped away from tradition, and took a risk that paid off big time. No matter where you stand on the simple creativity of this idea, it is undoubtedly unforgettable.

Click here for a fun iteration you may have never seen:

2019 Super Bowl Ads for Stella Artois

Ok, so, technically we haven’t seen the Super Bowl versions yet (it’s still January), but the unprecedented pitting together of Sarah Jessica Parker and Jeff Bridges in the current TV and online teasers has already got the entire team at Bottle Rocket Media pumped to see what else “Carrie Bradshaw” and “The Dude” have in store. We all applaud this concept because it is ultimately a way for Stella to both sell beer and help those in the developing world gain access to clean water. As a video production team, we LOVE it because it appeals to two completely different fan cultures (Sex and the City and The Big Lebowski) simultaneously – neither of which are known to have a proclivity towards imported beer.

Yet, it is clearly another risk worth taking, already racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Who knows–maybe Stella will become the new White Russian or the new Tartini…

Click here for Stella’s new Sex and the City parody:

Getting creative with your next brand video…

Admittedly, the aforementioned brands have serious dollars behind them. But, creating an outside-the-box video merely requires a great idea that can be easily digested and remembered by viewers. AND since video has become an extremely versatile and cost-effective medium with the advent of digital techniques – including 360-Video, VR and drones – almost any message can be portrayed in powerful and unorthodox ways, without the need for a colossal budget.

But, don’t just take our word for it! Here’s a short video on making an impact in just five seconds

Ready to have some fun and show the world a different side of your brand?

Click to learn more about creating an outside-the-box video to remember.