Volkswagen’s Barkside is a fun teaser promoting the brands’ involvement in the Super Bowl — as an advertiser. It continues to tap into the Star Wars phenomena and mashes it up with a costumed pet meme to come up with this fun, minute-long teaser ad.

An Ad Promoting…Another Ad?
Super Bowl ads have become the TV equivalent of a retail brand’s flagship store. The ads, like the stores, forgo much of the brand’s established look and feel for something new. Advertisers want to make a big statement that gets consumers talking and ultimately buying.

In the past few years, we’ve seen several examples of how media convergence has Super Bowl advertisers building much bigger campaigns around their 30 second spot.

Streaming & Sharing the Game
Between advertisers investing more to support their TV spots to the news that the game will be live streamed this year, we’re sure to see more interesting campaigns from advertisers.

Hopefully we’ll see a better integration of mobile and the Super Bowl this year. UPDATE: Chevy just announced it’s Super Bowl App.  Last year there was no obvious app that added value to the game. This year Verizon users will have access to the live stream on their phones. But mobile doesn’t simply mean outside. The multi-screen experience holds much promise for advertisers  gearing up for game day.

The stakes are high and whether its a 30 second spot, social media, mobile or other media play, marketers and consumers will have so much to experience they’ll have to remember to watch the game.

:: By Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing