What Companies Can Learn from This Year’s “Futuristic” Super Bowl Ads

Is your company keeping up with the times?

By Andrew Diodati, BreakFree Solutions' Solutions Architect

If you felt transported to the Jetson’s era after watching this year’s Super Bowl commercials, you’re not alone. The ads were overwhelmingly futuristic, leaning heavily on themes that were niche just 5 years ago, like cryptocurrency and electric vehicles.

According to NBC, they expected 100 million Americans to watch the event, and the coveted commercials cost nearly $7 million for a 30-second slot.

With major companies and industry leaders shelling out millions for these highly viewed commercials, the message was clear: “Futuristic” ideas have gone from niche to normal. And, unless you want to “be like Larry,” it’s time to get with the times.

I’m not suggesting that you run out and invest in crypto, buy a VR headset and let a robot dog talk you into buying a new electric car—these ideas may not apply to you and your life circumstances. But, especially if you’re a business leader, it is valuable to adopt principles that ready you for the “next big thing,” whatever it may be 5 years from now.

Imagine this, you’re sitting down, beer in hand, wings-a-plenty, ready to watch the 2017 Super Bowl. The New England Patriots are facing off the Atlanta Falcons and Lady Gaga will perform the halftime show. And of course, you’re anticipating the year’s best commercials.

They predominantly take form of what was then the norm—beer ads to entertain and car commercials to inspire. Some ads cause a stir by touching on the year’s political climate, referencing immigration and gender equality.

Compared to this year’s tech-based content, the ads are overwhelmingly of the 2010s, when gas cars were king, you’d be hard pressed to find a hard seltzer in the cooler, and cryptocurrency was reserved for block-chain enthusiasts.

Now those “niche” or “futuristic” industries are dominating. The hard seltzer industry hit $4.1 billion in sales last year, up from just $400,000 in 2018. The cryptocurrency market is worth over $3 trillion, according to CoinGecko. And the EV economy is expected to rise to $957.42 billion from $208.95 billion by 2030, according to a Market Research Future report.

So, yeah, you could say a lot has changed.

Though the Super Bowl ads in 2017 had no mention of the metaverse, and partially electric vehicles were still being marketed toward eco-enthusiasts, you can be sure that the industry leaders who homed in on those themes this year (giants like GM and Budlight) did not become modern, innovative companies over night.

Because a company will not become adaptable on its own, you must build those principles into the infrastructure of your business. Company leaders should be asking themselves if they’re taking advantage of the digital opportunities available to improve business and become an industry staple.

Since the world is rapidly changing, we help companies adapt their IT organizations to it more effectively, so that they can be the ones to build the next big thing. One way we help companies achieve this is through our DevOps Playbook Framework.

BreakFree DevOps Playbook Framework

The DevOps Playbook Framework is made up of the processes and technologies that in recent years have completely re-imagined the speed and scale that IT organizations can effectively operate.

Because each company is different, DevOps looks different on everyone, with broad impacts that can manifest in areas from faster delivery timeframes for applications to automation of development processes.

We help companies not just adopt DevOps principles but operationalize them across the IT organization. This means they are effectively using the right technology, processes, and techniques to give the outcomes the company is specifically looking for.

If you imbed innovative capabilities like DevOps into your business, 5 years from now you won’t “be like Larry,” you’ll be on track with the next big thing and leaving behind your competitors.

Interested in learning more about how our DevOps Framework can improve your business? Let’s hop on a whiteboarding session and talk it out! https://www.breakfreesolutions.com/contact/