5 Ad Things We Noticed during Super Bowl LVII
So, the Super Bowl has come to an end for another year. There’s been plenty of the things we’ve come to expect - namely, more celebrity cameos than you can shake a stick at - but the Big Game has also come with its share of surprises. Now that the smoke has cleared, although we’re sure there are still some Chiefs fans out partying, we’ve selected a few ad trends that we noticed during the event to highlight and discuss.
From the influx of alcohol sponsors, thanks to Anheuser-Busch not renewing its exclusivity, to a distinct lack of crypto, LBB’s Addison Capper and Ben Conway share some of the standout take-aways from the ads at Super Bowl LVII.
1. A bevy of non-Anheuser-Busch booze?
Alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch, parent company of the likes of Budweiser, Michelob Ultra and Busch, relinquished its Super Bowl advertising exclusivity rights last year, meaning that other brands could crack a bottle. We were quietly waiting for a veritable bevy of booze to rain down on Sunday but that didn't quite materialise. In fact, there were three national spots during the game on Sunday from alcohol brands unaffiliated with Anheuser-Busch.
Cognac brand Rémy Martin enlisted Serena Williams, one of the world's greatest ever athletes, to star in 'Inch by Inch', a spot inspired by the film 'Any Given Sunday'. Quite a way to make your Super Bowl debut. This was created by Fred & Farid and directed by Park Pictures' Terence Neale.
Canadian whisky Crown Royal, which is owned by Diageo, enlisted the help of Foo Fighters founder Dave Grohl to offer heartfelt thanks to America's northern neighbours for a whole host of things plus, naturally, Crown Royal whisky. This spot was created by Anomaly New York and directed by RSA's Jake Scott.
Finally, Heineken also got in the mix. 'Shrinking and Drinking' featured Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, as part of a collaboration between the brand and Marvel Studios, enjoying a guilt-free Heineken 0.0, the brand's alcohol-free beverage. It was created by Publicis Italy and directed by Bullitt's Anthony Leonardi III.
2. Booze-free booze.
The aforementioned Heineken spot was particularly notable because it was the first-ever non-alcoholic beer commercial to air during the Super Bowl. The move is testament to the ever-growing movement of the suber curious in the United States and beyond.
3. Crypt-no
Depending on how you look at it, Coinbase either won or completely flunked the Super Bowl last year with its extremely low production value QR code spot. That was one of a flurry of crypto brands who wedged their bets on the big game in 2022. This year was different: the tough times that have plagued the crypto industry since the sweeping promises it made during last year's Super Bowl meant that Sunday saw precisely zero ads from crypto associated clients.
4. Going wild with more than just 'Eagles'.
There are a few subjects in the world of advertising that nearly always provide an instant marketing advantage: celebrities, babies and, of course, animals. During the Super Bowl, we often see brands using these sure-fire stars to get some of those eyeballs and brand recognition flowing - even strategically deploying a combination of the three. For example, this year we saw fast food chain Popeyes employ the help of (accidental) internet meme creator Dieunerst Collin and surround him with puppies. Also in a Big Game spot at the weekend was actor-model couple Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry Teller - as well as their own adorable fur baby, Bugsy. And lest we forget to mention the liberty-loving prairie dog who features alongside Anna Faris in Avocados From Mexico’s reimagining of the Garden of Eden.
However, at Super Bowl LVII, we also saw some spots that required no celebrity at all - instead relying purely on the cuteness and loveable nature of animals to hook the audience in. In this vein, we were treated to two heart-warming stories about man’s best friend - ‘Forever’ from pet food brand The Farmer’s Dog and ‘Saving Sawyer’ from Amazon. Both of the films tug on your heartstrings as they explore just how much dogs mean to their families, playing on your emotions to get a visceral reaction, without the need for an A-lister to pop their head in. And taking a walk on the wild side, Jeep’s ‘Electric Boogie’ ad features an entire safari of animals grooving to a Shaggy and Marcia Griffiths soundtrack that is sure to get your hips moving. From moonwalking elephants to a seal doing the caterpillar, the spot is completely wild and certainly lives up to its name.
5. The Super Bowl goes Broadway.
Speaking of grooving and boogie-ing, strong music has always been a staple of iconic Super Bowl commercials - but don’t just take our word for it. A strong soundtrack can make or break a big game spot - and this year, there were a variety of genres, styles and uses for music being deployed. We saw stirring instrumental pieces being used by Publicis, Squarespace and Kia, as well as stone cold pop bangers like Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’ (Pringles), Men Without Hats’ ‘The safety dance’ (TurboTax) and Sarah McLaghlan’s ‘Angel’ (Busch Light). We even heard jingles (don’t let Diddy hear us say that) from Uber and e-commerce brand TEMU.
But one trend that emerged across the Super Bowl weekend was commercials that featured the music being performed in the films themselves by artists and celebrities alike - inspired by the bright lights and show tunes of Broadway and the West End. Starting with Old Spice’s ‘West Side Story’-influenced campaign, released on the build up to the game of games, Super Bowl LVII also was the setting for John Travolta’s return to his Grease roots. Embodying the classic Danny Zuko character once again, he performed a lyrically-altered rendition of ‘Summer Nights’ from the iconic musical with ‘Scrubs’ stars Donald Faison and Zach Braff for T-Mobile. And finally, also walking the boards on the biggest stage in advertising this year was Melissa McCarthy, who sang a musical-inspired original track about longing for a vacation for Booking.com’s ‘Somewhere, Anywhere’ campaign.
