Eugene Levy鈥檚 trademark eyebrows fly off for Little Caesars. A tongue dances to Shania Twain to promote Nestle鈥檚 Coffee Mate Cold Foam. And Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunite at Katz鈥檚 Deli in an ad for 贬别濒濒尘补苍苍鈥檚.
A frenzied mix of silliness and celebrities is hitting the airwaves and the internet, and that means one thing: it is Super Bowl ad time again.
Veteran advertisers are using tried-and-true tactics like celebrity cameos, humor and cute animals to win over watchers. Meanwhile, first-time and newer advertisers are courting outrageousness and using stunts to try to stand out in the battle to capture the attention of the more than 120 million viewers expected to tune into Sunday鈥檚 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Fox.
Super Bowl viewers are a unique audience because they鈥檙e as primed to watch the ads as they are the game.
鈥淭his is a societal moment where we come together as a country,鈥� said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia鈥檚 Darden School of Business. 鈥淲e may be on different sides, you know, of the gridiron or the field. But we come together.鈥�
With 80-plus ad spots divvied up among the 50-something advertisers during the game, it鈥檚 tough to make sure viewers remember your brand message. And with a few ad spots going for a record $8 million for 30 seconds this year, the stakes have never been higher.
But the price tag is worth it, advertisers say. Rachel Jaiven, head of Haagen-Dazs marketing, said the brand decided to make its first-ever appearance in the game due to the size of the viewership and its association with snacking.
鈥淲e know at the Super Bowl these days that everyone watches, it鈥檚 a wide audience,鈥� Jaiven said. The brand鈥檚 ad shows stars from the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� franchise enjoying an ice cream bar. 鈥淲e thought it was time for us to tell our story, remind people what they love about Haagen-Dazs and of course, have them stock up on Haagen-Dazs in their freezer.鈥�
In order to garner more publicity, many advertisers release their ads ahead of the game. Of the ads that have already been released, here鈥檚 a sampling of the approaches advertisers are taking during the big game this year.
CELEBRITY-PALOOZA
贬别濒濒尘补苍苍鈥檚 ad made a splash ahead of the game by reuniting Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal鈥檚 鈥淲hen Harry Met Sally鈥� characters at Katz鈥檚 Deli enjoying a sandwich with 贬别濒濒尘补苍苍鈥檚. Sydney Sweeney joins to utter the famous line 鈥淚鈥檒l have what she鈥檚 having.鈥�
Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth wear Ray-Ban Meta AI-powered glasses while looking at art. Hemsworth accidently eats a banana in an art piece worth $6.2 million, and Kris Jenner appears to scold them.
Actors Catherine O鈥橦ara and Willem Dafoe star as pickleball players hustling younger players to win Michelob Ultras.
Soccer star David Beckham learns he has a twin named Dave Beckham who turns out to be Matt Damon. They don鈥檛 have much in common but both drink Stella Artois.
Matthew McConaughey explains a conspiracy theory that football was invented to sell food, with cameos by Martha Stewart, Greta Gerwig, Charli XCX, Kevin Bacon and YouTuber Sean Evans.
SILLY HUMOR
Adorable sloths undergo mishaps because they鈥檙e slow, like a kitchen fire and running into a glass door; they have a 鈥淐ase of the Mondays,鈥� like many people sluggish at work the day after the Super Bowl.
Actor Eugene Levy鈥檚 eyebrows fly off and fly around after he tries the pizza chain鈥檚 Crazy Puffs in what is strangely not the only ad with flying facial hair in it (see Pringles).
The first-time advertiser goes for silly humor in an ad that shows a man鈥檚 tongue dancing, and even doing a flip, to a song sung by Shania Twain to represent how good Nestle Coffee Mate Cold Foam tastes.
Actor Nick Offerman, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and L.A. Clippers鈥� James Harden watch their famous mustaches fly away to help deliver Pringles.
SERIOUS MESSAGES
Dove highlights the problem of low body confidence in young girls and depicts a young girl running down the sidewalk to H.E.R.鈥檚 version of 鈥淏orn to Run.鈥�
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism
Patriot owner Robert Kraft has an ad in the game for the second year in a row. Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady voice reasons why people hate each other in an effort to combat hate speech.
First-time advertiser Telehealth company Hims & Hers highlights the obesity epidemic and says weight loss drugs should be more affordable.
First-time advertiser Novartis is focusing on breast cancer awareness in its ad featuring Wanda Sykes and Hailee Steinfeld.
FIRST-TIME ADVERTISERS
The ice-cream brand reunites 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� stars Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel and Ludacris, except this time, they鈥檙e going slow. They cruise down the Pacific Coast Highway in a Chevrolet Chevelle slowly so they can enjoy eating an ice cream bar.
First-timer Instacart joins DoorDash and Uber Eats and a battle between food delivery services during the game. Instacart loads up its ad with tons of brand characters it hopes viewers recognize: from Mountain Dew鈥檚 鈥淧uppyMonkeyBaby鈥� character from a 2016 Super Bowl ad to the Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Doughboy. The characters represent all the things you can get delivered from the food delivery service.
In one of several ads featuring aliens, comedian Tim Robinson and actor Sam Richardson say goodbye to an alien who was living in their neighborhood. Cookware brand Hexclad and Doritos ads also feature aliens.
SURPRISES
Not all advertisers release their ads early, so there are always plenty of surprises on game day. Only two auto brands, Stellantis鈥� Jeep and Ram, have announced Super Bowl ad plans, but they haven鈥檛 given any details on the ads.
Dunkin鈥� has secured the first ad spot after kickoff but is staying mum on details other than teasing that it will star Ben and Casey Affleck and Jeremy Strong. Canned water company Liquid Death will advertise for the first time with an ad created in-house. Duracell has teased that its ad will feature a 鈥淒uracell Scientist鈥� but hasn鈥檛 given any other details.
Ad experts think it is unlikely that an A.I.-generated ad will debut during advertising鈥檚 biggest night after Coca-Cola鈥檚 holiday ad created with the help of A.I. technology drew some backlash. But if one did debut, it would be sure to make a splash.
