Pavone Group CCO Chuck Meehan on Building Super Bowl Campaigns That Last

With four Super Bowl credits to his name – including GM spots starring Will Ferrell (2021) and Mike Myers as Dr. Evil (2022) – Chuck Meehan knows what it takes to create work that cuts through culture, pressure and noise. 

As Chief Creative Officer of Pavone Group — and its Super Bowl commercial poll, SpotBowl — Chuck brings decades of big brand experience and a relentless focus on bold, business-driving ideas to every challenge our clients face. We sat down with Chuck to get his unfiltered take on Super Bowl advertising, strategy and what separates great work from forgettable noise.

YOU’VE GOT FOUR SUPER BOWL CREDITS. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT MAKING A SUPER BOWL AD?

People think it’s a 30-second project. It’s not. It’s six months of your life, minimum. You’re in concepting in August and if you’re lucky you’re shooting in December and still sweating bullets in January. It’s the coolest thing and the most terrifying thing. You’re not just making a spot, you’re running a gauntlet with four times the stakeholders and opinions.

Another misconception is that the Super Bowl does the work for you. It doesn’t. A big media buy won’t save a bad idea. The audience is more critical and more unforgiving than any other day of the year. If the idea isn’t strong, people will let you know.

WHAT MAKES A SUPER BOWL IDEA “BIG ENOUGH” TO SURVIVE THE PROCESS?

It has to surprise you, even if you’ve been doing this for decades. If the idea feels obvious, it won’t survive the room, or the months of opinions that follow. The ideas that make it are the concepts that connect the brief to something unexpected, then snap into place so cleanly you can say it in a single line. 

HOW DO YOU BALANCE ENTERTAINING AMERICA AND STILL DRIVING THE BRAND?

The entertainment has to come from the product or the brand, not pasted on top of it. The best advertising is still a product demo at heart, even when it’s disguised as comedy or emotion. Yes, you want people to remember the spot, but you really want them to remember why. If the laughs don’t connect back to something the brand uniquely owns, you’re just doing stand-up with a logo.

WHAT DOES “SUCCESS” LOOK LIKE FOR A SUPER BOWL SPOT?

It’s all about buzz. You’re paying for attention, conversation and cultural gravity. If it creates a ripple outside the ad bubble, you’ve got something. When a spot sparks international conversation, when unexpected people are reacting to it, when it shows up in places you’d never expect, that’s when you know it landed.  

BRANDS NOW RELEASE ADS BEFORE THE GAME. SMART STRATEGY OR KILLING THE SURPRISE?

It’s smart. When you’re spending that kind of money, you’re trying to win the game before the game. Once it airs on Sunday, the clock starts ticking and by Tuesday the whole world has moved on to something else. Releasing early buys you more runway, more views, more sharing, more debate. You have to maximize the investment, because it’s a big investment. 

YOU CONVINCED GM TO PUT DR. EVIL ON THE SIDE OF ITS HEADQUARTERS AS PART OF THE CAMPAIGN AROUND ITS YEAR SUPER BOWL SPOT. WHAT’S THE LESSON THERE FOR BRANDS?

Don’t stop at the spot. That’s the lesson. The activation became a bigger story than the commercial in a lot of ways because people could see it, film it and share it. It felt real. The best work creates opportunities you didn’t plan at the beginning. If the idea gives you a lever, pull it. Leverage the moment, the character, the setting, the culture. That’s how you turn attention into a movement.

WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART: SELLING THE IDEA OR PRODUCING IT?

Honestly, both, but the selling is brutal. You’ve got more people involved, more opinions, more fear, more committees. If you get an idea they just can’t deny, you’re ahead. But even then you have to protect it. You fight for the integrity of the thing all the way through. Getting to the game with a great spot is a Herculean feat, and nobody watching at home sees that part.

YOU’VE WORKED WITH CELEBRITIES LIKE WILL FERRELL, MIKE MYERS, JIM GAFFIGAN AND CHARLIE SHEEN. DOES A GREAT SUPER BOWL SPOT NEED A CELEBRITY, AND WHAT’S THE REAL CREATIVE CHALLENGE WHEN YOU USE ONE?

A spot never needs a celebrity, but when you use one, it has to be earned. The mistake is dropping a famous face in just for attention. The celebrity has to make sense for the idea and the product. The real challenge is discipline. Some celebs naturally think in long sketches, not 60-second stories. You have to respect that while still making sure the brand, not the celebrity, is the hero.

THIS YEAR’S SUPER BOWL ADS ARE GOING FOR $8 MILLION FOR 30 SECONDS. IS IT WORTH IT? 

It can be, but only if you treat it like a real business decision, not a vanity flex. You’re buying cultural attention at scale. That’s rare. But the work has to be impossible to ignore and it can’t end on Sunday night. If you’re not building a broader platform from it, you’re just lighting money on fire. 

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A BRAND PREPARING FOR ITS FIRST SUPER BOWL AD?

Approach it like a marathon, because it is. Protect the idea. Don’t let the process sand it down into something safe and forgettable. And think beyond the ad. What can you activate? What can you extend? How does it live in culture, not just in media? The Super Bowl is an attention accelerator, and if you have a strong point of view and a big idea, it can create momentum that lasts all year.