Whether or not your team won on Sunday, if you paid attention, you got a $60 million dollar lesson on what masterful executive presence DOES and DOES NOT look and sound like, in exactly three minutes.
Sunday was Super Bowl LX, and as usual, half the fun of getting together with friends was watching the commercials.
If you thought last year’s market value of a Super Bowl ad was insane at $8 million for a 30-second slot, this year’s 25% increase to $10 million for a 30-second slot gives a whole new definition to the word insanity—as if to say, “You think inflation is bad? Watch this!”
As always, there are some ads that are creative and funny, some that are touching, and some that just make you say, “…huh?”
This year, two commercials stood out in particular for me—as great examples for what not to do, and what to do, respectively, in the world of leadership communication and influence, when:
- the stakes are astronomically high
- you’re putting it all on the line
- you have one shot to make your point and hit your mark at every level.
Let's look at what not to do, first.
The $40 Million Hail-Mary Pass that Misses: When You Try to Do Too Much
One of the biggest mistakes I see clients make when they’re presenting to high-stakes audiences—whether it’s the board of directors, investors, the C-suite, or a job interview—is that they try to do way too much.
The pressure of the moment, the belief that they only have one shot and everything rides on this one opportunity, flips people into panic mode. Sadly, the desperation is palpable in the way they show up:
- They ramble
- Their thoughts are all over the place
- They overload their presentation with data points and jargon
- They try to smash in all of their successes and accolades and ideas and skills and talents to prove their credibility (though it’s not clear which of you they’re trying to convince)
- They are either devoid of personality or overcompensate with awkward humor that lands flat.
It’s a veritable “Hail Mary pass” of communication, along with the requisite prayer that somewhere in that mess they’ll say the right thing and score the points they desperately need.
(If this is a potential career landmine for you, feel free to contact me.)
The poster child for what not to do was the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial featuring stars and disjointed references from way too many hit sitcoms from the 1980s and 90s—from Cheers, Family Matters, and A Different World, to Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Seinfeld…all tied with a random connection to the movie Good Will Hunting, and a random cameo appearance by Tom Brady, bizarrely set inside a Dunkin’ Donuts.
(Did it hurt your brain to read that sentence? It hurt mine to write it.)
It was frenetic, all over the place, confusing, and—most disappointingly—not funny.
On some level, I suppose it could have been clever.
Somebody clearly thought it had the potential to be, because in addition to the $40 million rental for the whopping 120-second slot, the amount of money spent on salaries for the dozen or so A-list actors from the era must have been astronomical.
For someone to commit that kind of resources to producing the vision of what they believed this commercial could be, you know there was true passion, buy-in and commitment behind it.
And yet… it grossly missed the mark.
It lacked authority, focus, purpose, credibility, poise, confidence—and even smart humor…everything a mic-drop-worthy leadership moment is supposed to contain.
The Quiet Mic Drop: When Less Becomes More
In contrast, I think the award for the most perfectly executed advertisement of the year goes to Budweiser.
(Which is ironic coming from me, as I find their beer utterly undrinkable… sorry Anheuser Busch. But I give major props to your marketing team.)
Budweiser’s ad told a wordless story showing the relationship developed between a foal and a baby eaglet as they grow into a powerful Clydesdale horse and a full-fledged American eagle soaring together.
No dialogue. No explanation. No verbal overreach.
The message it conveys is powerful in the simplicity of the imagery and juxtaposition of two long-standing icons: the Clydesdale is Budweiser; the eagle is America, and the real message they drive home in one split second where the eagle and the beer appear as one is: Budweiser is America.
And we can't overlook the fact that all of these is set to the tune of (what else?) Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird,” with the freedom reference making it the ultimate trifecta of symbolic Americana.
It’s about connection, loyalty, strength and identity.
The symbolism isn’t subtle. It’s the whole point.
And it works.
Because there are no words to force you to accept or deny what would sound cliche. You accept it intuitively because it gets you to draw the parallels to yourself.
This commercial is a masterclass in executive-level communication: one emotional through-line, one relationship, one arc.
It doesn’t try to win you over by shouting. It earns your respect and appreciation by making you feel something.
They don’t try to make you understand … you simply get it.
That was 60 seconds and $20MM well spent.
(But you still won’t ever see me drinking a Bud.)
What This Means for Leaders Who Need to Land the Plane
So how does this translate into leadership communication?
- Know when less is more.
- Know when an analogy, a metaphor, image or a story will make the point better than a thousand points of data—or jargon—or acronyms—or big words—or credentials.
- Know that when you speak to someone’s values and identity, you will get through to them infinitely faster and more effectively than by trying to persuade them with facts and figures and spreadsheets and bullet points.
Data can support your case. But story drives your message home.
And when the stakes are high, authority isn’t built by cramming in more. Authority is built through confident clarity and simplicity.
A Simple Challenge Before Your Next High-Stakes Moment
Before your next board meeting, investor pitch, C-suite update, or job interview, do this:
Pick one point you want them to remember when they walk out of the room.
Choose one story, image, or analogy that makes that point inevitable—something they can feel as well as understand.
Then remove anything that doesn’t serve that through-line.
Because you don’t build credibility by proving you know everything. You build credibility by showing you know what matters to them. Period.
Don’t throw a $40 million Hail Mary pass that misses the mark.
Be the quiet mic drop.
