By Genevieve Norris
Welcome back to Part 2 of NYC Unloaded, the Super Bowl edition. If you read my last post, you’ll know that one was all about the play. This one is about the work.
As much as my recent trip to NYC had its fair share of fun, the reality is we were there for a reason. So after a Sunday morning spent indulging in six rashers of bacon and a plate of maple-drenched French toast, it was time to switch gears. I headed back to the hotel to prepare for the long night ahead – what we call at work the Super Bowl war room.
Switching Gears
If you’re interested in advertising, research, and marketing, you’re in the right place.
I started my career as an English graduate with a Primary PGCE, then completely switched lanes into market research at System1. From there, I moved into new business and sales, before landing my current role as Global Communications Manager in the marketing team four years later. And I love it.
The work is varied, the team is brilliant, and what we do day to day is endlessly interesting. Travel is a wonderful perk, too. From sales events in Amsterdam to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, I’ve been incredibly lucky to travel, and to meet and learn from inspiring marketers and brands along the way.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the places the job has taken me.
From live events to webinars, trade shows to PR and of course the company blog, no two days are quite the same. I truly love the life of comms. So if you are fresh out of university, or considering a career switch, and you love creativity, writing and doing something different every day, communications might just be for you.
For context, System1 is a creative effectiveness agency. We help brands create entertaining ads, prepare new products for launch and make sure their brand is growing year after year. When it comes to the Super Bowl, our focus, for now, is firmly on the ads.
As a Brit, I went from knowing very little about the Super Bowl to eagerly waiting each year to see what wonderfully weird creative will hit the screen. Seal for Mountain Dew at Super Bowl LIX still lives in my head rent-free, as does Chazmo for Totino’s Pizza Rolls. I’ve developed a real soft spot for the obscure and nonsensical stuff. Although after my 50th rendition of Kiss From a Rose in last year’s war room, I’m fairly certain my colleagues would vote for something a little different.
On Super Bowl Sunday, a group of us in marketing, alongside our research team, head into the office to watch the game, test every ad live, code them for features like celebrity and music, and pull together the webinar deck, the press release announcing the top scorers and plenty of blog content. This year, we wrapped at 2:30am.
We even livestreamed straight after the game with the energetic marketing duo, Breaking & Entering. It is quite literally non-stop. Fortunately, there is plenty of NYC pizza to keep us fuelled throughout the night. This year, I even got to try a Girl Scout cookie. The samoas are very good.
We are then back in the office at 10am the next day, drafting content for our annual live event on Tuesday, finalising slides, Q&As and panel topics and, of course, writing more blogs. By Monday morning, I still had not adjusted to the jet lag, and the lack of sleep had me drifting into delulu territory, which is not ideal when you are trying to produce your best work. That said, we still managed to make our way to Times Square and Grand Central for some post-work sightseeing, and of course snuck in a cheeky trip to Los Tacos.
Somehow, we pull it off. It is a real team effort. Six of us manage social, PR, interviews, content and US event logistics, while our colleagues in the UK use the time difference to keep everything moving. Once we draft the webinar and stage presentation, our UK-based designer transforms it overnight and, like magic, we wake up to a polished, customer-ready PowerPoint waiting in our inboxes.
Here are some highlights from the past couple of years:
I must admit, this year’s ads did not quite hook me in the way they did last year, but there were a few personal highlights. Pepsi and Pringles were my clear favourites, while Freddie loved the silly jokes in the Hellmann’s ad, and I thought the Amazon Alexa spot was pretty funny, although I may be slightly biased given it featured Chris Hemsworth.
One thing I would love to see less of, or at least see done better, next year is AI. A lot of AI brands showed up this year, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but many of the ads felt repetitive and heavily product-focused. For most viewers, myself included, that is far less exciting than a catchy tune, a favourite celebrity recreating an iconic cultural moment, or Pepsi poking fun at its biggest rival, Coke.
The Super Bowl is about entertainment. It is about creating something all ages can understand and enjoy. The most memorable ads are the ones that get people talking beyond the marketing community.
But hey ho. I will put a pin in that one until 2027.
For more plans made easy, career highlights and travel recommendations, make sure to check out my socials linked below. And of course, if you have not subscribed yet, I would greatly appreciate the support.
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