An interview with the man behind SuperBowlAds.com
Ken Phipps is the owner and founder of hyperdigitalinteraction Inc. with 20+ years experience as an award-winning art director, specializing in interactive media and advertising for clients such as Disney, Lucasfilm Ltd., ABC Television, Apple, Sun Microsystems, HP, IGN.
1. Ken, what ads do you most look forward to seeing?
"I've heard the Snickers ad will be 'like nothing you've ever seen' so I'm hoping one of the online endings is worth it."
I prefer ads that entertain and don't feel like an intrusion. The ads that work the best are the ones with the strongest branding message. If I can't remember who the ad is for, it's not worth it. I also tend to like TV commercials that are quirky and poke fun at themselves a bit. This year the big topic is ads created by the public (like the Doritos ad contest). I like everyone having a fair chance at getting an ad on the Superbowl (I even had a few in the contest) so it will be interesting to see how those fit in with all the "professional" versions.
2. When did you start your SuperBowl Ads website?
The initial idea for a cost saving idea for Super Bowl advertising was back in 1994. In 1996, I posted the first site that explained my concept. After becoming frustrated with the lack of web information available about Super Bowl advertising, I began to post links to the few articles that were on the internet. I also began with polling my readers. By 1998, I began posting the commercials for review and dedicating the site to being THE information source about Super Bowl advertising. It's grown a lot since then, both in traffic and in content. Being an online graphic designer, it's a once a year effort to get a new design, and I try to improve it every year. It's been interesting seeing the growth of video on the web, and how others like iFilm, AOL and Google are now doing the same things as I did long ago.
3. Any brushes with famous people as a result?
Only you.
4. Have you ever gotten any "cease and desist" letters?
Once I got a letter about an Universal Studios ad, they wanted me to remove it from my site because someone that appeared in the ad hadn't signed a release. But most of the advertisers, just want their ads to be seen and reseen by the widest possible audience.
5. Finally, Bears or Colts?
I gotta go with Peyton Manning...he's such a student of the game and knows what's going on on the field.
1. Ken, what ads do you most look forward to seeing?
"I've heard the Snickers ad will be 'like nothing you've ever seen' so I'm hoping one of the online endings is worth it."
I prefer ads that entertain and don't feel like an intrusion. The ads that work the best are the ones with the strongest branding message. If I can't remember who the ad is for, it's not worth it. I also tend to like TV commercials that are quirky and poke fun at themselves a bit. This year the big topic is ads created by the public (like the Doritos ad contest). I like everyone having a fair chance at getting an ad on the Superbowl (I even had a few in the contest) so it will be interesting to see how those fit in with all the "professional" versions.
2. When did you start your SuperBowl Ads website?
The initial idea for a cost saving idea for Super Bowl advertising was back in 1994. In 1996, I posted the first site that explained my concept. After becoming frustrated with the lack of web information available about Super Bowl advertising, I began to post links to the few articles that were on the internet. I also began with polling my readers. By 1998, I began posting the commercials for review and dedicating the site to being THE information source about Super Bowl advertising. It's grown a lot since then, both in traffic and in content. Being an online graphic designer, it's a once a year effort to get a new design, and I try to improve it every year. It's been interesting seeing the growth of video on the web, and how others like iFilm, AOL and Google are now doing the same things as I did long ago.
3. Any brushes with famous people as a result?
Only you.
4. Have you ever gotten any "cease and desist" letters?
Once I got a letter about an Universal Studios ad, they wanted me to remove it from my site because someone that appeared in the ad hadn't signed a release. But most of the advertisers, just want their ads to be seen and reseen by the widest possible audience.
5. Finally, Bears or Colts?
I gotta go with Peyton Manning...he's such a student of the game and knows what's going on on the field.