Super Bowl Ads: No more surprises

You can smell it; it’s almost palpable. Around late January you can find more people wearing football jerseys than ties—it’s Super Bowl time
With its arrival less than a month away, Nationwide Mutual insurance is using the Super Bowl hype to generate buzz for its online marketing. The latest tactic is to run the ad, which has the theme “Life Comes at You Fast,” on its Web site a full week before the Super Bowl, reported in USA Today.

This is a unique move because this ad was the final ad in a series. Most companies like to build anticipation, and then during the Super Bowl reveal the grand idea that companies had teased viewers with for weeks. Not Nationwide, they’re letting it all hang out.

In the same report, Nationwide ad chief Steven Schreibman believes revealing this ad now will only create more buzz for this commercial come Super Bowl time.

This is a great marketing strategy which gives the creative company a first mover advantage. If all companies advertising during the Super Bowl decided to put their ads online before the game,then the unique position Nationwide would disappear. Nationwide made a great choice in being the leader instead of the follower in this case.