Quick thinking advertisers took advantage of an unusual opportunity last night when the lights went out at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. 

Many clever tweets were posted during the 35-minute blackout in the second half of Superbowl 47. Among the funny ones by various personal Tweeters (“I knew I shouldn’t have froze my wedding cake in the Super Dome freezer.” @JimGaffigan), were some brands taking full advantage of the opportunity to reach out in real time.

A few standout examples:

Audi – “Sending some LEDs to the @MBUSA Superdome right now…”

Tide – “We can’t get your blackout, But we can get your stains out.”
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Oreo – “You can still dunk in the dark”
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These tweets demonstrate the advantage of being ever-vigilant in terms of social media. With Twitter in particular, savvy marketers can seize opportunities to put themselves front and center while millions of eyes are watching. These three ads were retweeted more than 20,000 times, furthering the viral effect that is the beauty of social media.

Lesson of the day: Always be on the lookout for opportunities to reach out to your customers with your message. Be aware that great impact can be made by a quick, timely connection.