On Sunday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to two news programmes. Lou Ellerton joined Stephen Dixon and Gillian Joseph on Sky News Sunrise to discuss the multi-million dollar ad business that’s the Superbowl, building on the recent blog post from Richie Heron.
Ads in the Superbowl have become an event in themselves – not just for those in the advertising and marketing world, but also for the general American public. In fact, a survey last year found that more people in the US tuned in to watch the advertising than to watch the sport! It’s become an unofficial competition to see who’s got the new best ad, meaning that the viewing public are more engaged on the day and brands are keener to be there. The result is that prices are pushed ever further up, as we’ve seen with this year’s media costs.
Of course, the use of the Superbowl to showcase great advertising is nothing new. Coca-Cola began the trend in 1979 with its Mean Joe Green ad, to be followed by Apple’s 1984 triumph. Directed by Ridley Scott, the ad launched the Apple Mac with an anti-establishment tribute to George Orwell’s ’1984′. Despite being aired only twice, it remains acknowledged by the industry as one of the great executions of the past 30 years.

Following her appearance on Sunrise, Lou went on to talk with LBC Radio’s Emma Baxter and ex-Interbrand chairman Rita Clifton about the ‘demise’ of Britain’s high streets. Sparked by Sir Terry Leahy’s comment that the closure of small shops is a “part of progress”, the debate covered the inevitability or otherwise of such closures, and what the independents can do to combat it.
While there’s no easy answer, here at The Value Engineers we believe that continuing success is as always dependent on offering something bigger, better or different. Given that the stores can’t compete by size, it’s up to traders to focus their efforts on offering better, different, and possibly more specialist products, services and shopping experiences.
Of course, the biggest factor in the decline of local high streets is consumers’ willingness to compromise their support in favour of convenience, ease and lower prices. There’s no point in complaining about the closure of small traders if you’re doing all of your shopping on Amazon – it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’.


