Sony/ATV Songs Soundtrack Numerous Super Bowl 53 Commercials

Companies including Amazon, Budweiser, Mercedes-Benz, Pepsi and T-Mobile all used songs represented by the world’s leading music publisher for their commercials that were screened in the U.S. on Sunday night during CBS’s live broadcast of the game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.

Sony/ATV songs aired during the Super Bowl game ranged from classics by icons such as Bob Dylan and Queen to contemporary hits by stars including Cardi B. The New York rapper starred alongside Steve Carell and Lil Jon in Pepsi’s More Than OK ad, which featured her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 and Grammy-nominated 'I Like It' with Bad Bunny and J. Balvin. Cardi B was also part of a Super Bowl spot last year when she appeared in an Amazon commercial that used her breakthrough hit 'Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)'.

The Queen classic 'Don’t Stop Me Now', which was written by the group’s frontman Freddie Mercury, featured in Amazon’s Not Everything Makes The Cut commercial whose all-star cast included Harrison Ford and Forest Whitaker. It was the second successive year in which a song by the legendary band was showcased in a Super Bowl ad after Ram deployed 'We Will Rock You' during the 2018 game. It also followed a record-breaking sync year for Queen whose Sony/ATV-published catalog was licensed last year by a number of top-grade brands including Google, Peloton and Silk Almondmilk and which received a substantial boost with the release of the Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Sony/ATV songs also featured in further star-heavy Super Bowl commercials this year, including a version by Michael Buble of the 1920s standard 'When You’re Smiling' which was licensed for a Pepsi ad starring the Canadian crooner. Meanwhile, in a year in which the Super Bowl came to Atlanta, the city’s celebrated rapper Ludacris appeared in a Mercedes-Benz commercial which included his 2003 Hot 100 No. 1 'Stand Up'.

For a Super Bowl commercial starring Serena Williams, dating and networking app Bumble used the Rita Ora recording “Soul Survivor,” which features on her 2018 album Phoenix and was co-written by the Stargate hit machine team of Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen and fellow Sony/ATV songwriter Simon Wilcox.

More than half of the songs licensed by Sony/ATV for this year’s Super Bowl are 100% controlled by the company. These include 'Blowin’ In The Wind', 'Don’t Stop Me Now' and 'Stand Up'.

Sony/ATV president, global chief marketing officer Brian Monaco said: “The Super Bowl stands out as the most coveted spot in the calendar for songwriters and artists who want their music associated with a platform that has over 100 million people watching on TV and millions more engaged digitally. And thanks to the digital platforms, the game has become an even bigger story for brands. At one time it was all about the live broadcast, but the addition of digital campaigns to the mix is delivering new audiences to advertisers and great analytics.

“Once again Sony/ATV’s deep catalog has resonated with brands across the board from legendary names like Bob Dylan and Queen to new superstars such as Cardi B who has appeared in a Super Bowl ad for the second successive year. It is great to see a new young artist like her appealing to big global companies in this way.

“One trend we are noticing is that each year brands are leaving it later and later to decide what music to use in their Super Bowl commercials. The fact we were still getting requests for our catalogue right up to the big game means people are thinking harder than ever to make sure they have chosen the right song.”