Students Rate Ads

Savvy Consumers: Students Rate Super Bowl Ads' Appeal to Women

Students in marketing professor Bill Shannon's Advertising and Promotion class at Saint Mary's had one assignment last weekend. They had to watch the Super Bowl. Students divided up into 16 teams to rate the much-anticipated ads that run during the game, assessing their overall effectiveness and appeal to women. The students' findings were published in the South Bend Tribune Monday.

Junior business administration and economics majors Karin Carlisle and Brittany Fitzpatrick joined Shannon Monday on news radio station WTRC-AM 1340 to discuss the ads. "About ninety million people watch the Super Bowl every year and about half of those viewers are women," says Shannon. "Research shows that women buy the majority of the goods and services. It's a ‘no-brainer', advertisers should be including women in their messaging. The question is, will they include women this year?"

It's the third year Professor Shannon has had his junior and senior marketing/communication majors rate Super Bowl ads from the female perspective. According to the reviews of Shannon's past students, 2006 was a great year for women's commercials and 2007 was a dud. The 2006 Super Bowl included the Dove campaign for girls' self-esteem, but last year Shannon's students reported there were no "touchdowns" when it came to the ads. "I felt left out," one student said.

As the New York Giants upset the championed New England Patriots 17-14 on Sunday, the Saint Mary's students prepared their assessment of this year's commercials. Students watched for that "one commercial just for women," says Fitzpatrick. Two out of 16 teams were impressed with the FedEx ad, says Shannon. Carlisle remarked during the radio interview on the effectiveness of humor in commercials, saying "FedEx kind of surprises people now and then."