How Temu Used the Super Bowl to Take Over America

In 1984, something unexpected came across people's TV screens as they watched the Super Bowl: droves of brainwashed people march through an apocalyptic world. Some might have recognized it for being reminiscent of George Orwell's popular novel "1984." Talk about impeccable timing!

In this ad, the inspirational spark that would set these people free was something new, something different: Macintosh computers, freeing the brainwashed minds from IBM's ubiquitous personal computers. The ad challenged the world to think different—Apple's slogan that would define the brand in the coming decades. Today, Apple is worth close to $3 trillion and stands as the largest tech company in the world.

Although we can't put all of their success on this one ad, it certainly set the pace for what the company was trying to achieve in the coming decades. Now, this was a gamble. Super Bowl ads are famously not cheap; they cost $7 million to buy 30 seconds of commercial time on the broadcast. But if you can get one right, the returns can be incredible. For one, more than 200 million people watch the Super Bowl; that sheer volume is the biggest advantage to advertisers.

The other advantage is engagement. The Super Bowl is one of the only television events where people look forward to the ads. It's become part of the cultural experience. That means the bar for these ads is high, and generally, they tend to have a storyline or showcase celebrities. They might be funnier and more high-action than standard ads because advertisers are spending way more money on them. But the price is worth it; on average, a Super Bowl ad proves to be about 20 times more effective than a regular ad.

The best Super Bowl ads raise brand awareness. They aren't just pushing sales but asking people to become familiar with the brand and therefore become repeat customers. That 1984 Apple ad might have driven new sales, but it also created a culture around the brand that lives on today. Apple used the media to create a spectacle that challenged the status quo and is now one of the most valuable companies in the world.

If you watched the Super Bowl in 2023, you might have come across this ad from a company that seems to be in a position similar to Apple in 1984. The company, just like Apple, is in a position where it's coming up against a giant in the industry. This ad, like Apple's in 1984, was designed to get customers to challenge the status quo. The ad featured a tagline: "Shop like a billionaire," and showcased high-quality items at a price most people would consider impossible.

This is how Temu's Super Bowl ad is disrupting an entire industry. But what is Temu exactly? Well, let's take a deep dive into the company that some say is too good to be true. Temu is an app that offers steep discounts on a slew of products and has become known for their staggeringly low prices. The company is the sister app of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, which is popular for the same exact reason.

Maybe you haven't heard of it yet, or maybe the app is sitting unused on your phone, but by the end of 2022, before Temu even bought the multi-million-dollar Super Bowl spot, it was the most downloaded free app on the App Store and Google Play Store. At the time of writing, it's one of the most downloaded shopping apps in the UK and has over 100 million users in the US. A shopping app being the most downloaded free app on the entire Apple App Store and Google Play Store is honestly mind-blowing.

But when you understand how the app works, it's not as surprising anymore. The Temu app is one of the reasons it's really challenging the other e-commerce giants because, in all honesty, it’s one of the best I've experienced, mostly for one main feature. Have you ever shopped online for hours, completed your order, only to remember 10 minutes later that there was something else you forgot to buy?

With most other apps, all you can do at that point is cancel your current order and start all over again or just create a new order. With Temu, you can simply add the new item to your current order. While testing out the app, I had to buy $20 worth of stuff to get free shipping, so I bought...