The Super Bowl is the biggest single day in advertising, with companies this year reportedly spending $5.6 million for a 30-second spot during the game. To get the biggest bang for their buck, some advertisers leak teasers, or even the full ads, before the big game to start generating buzz.
There’s a lot at stake: The Super Bowl routinely draws more than 100 million viewers, making it one of the few major broadcast events to draw blockbuster ratings amid eroding viewership due to streaming services like Netflix.
In Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, February 2, will face the Kansas City Chiefs. In the advertising realm, the game will pit newcomers such as Facebook and hummus-maker Sabra against returning advertisers such as Pepsi and Avocados from Mexico.
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The best Super Bowl ads go beyond humor or flashy content and strive to succeed from a marketing standpoint, experts say. Consider one of the best-known Super Bowl ads of all time, Apple’s “1984.” That spot combined a top-notch creative component, thanks to movie director Ridley Scott, as well as a strategic element that compellingly conveyed the brand’s message at the time. In the case of that ad, the message was that Apple’s new Mac would revolutionize computing (It did.)
So what about this year’s mix of ads? So far, it’s clear there will be a political element, with presidential candidates including Michael Bloomberg and President Donald Trump buying airtime. Here are some of the ads that have been teased or released early.
Hyundai
The Korean automaker is already getting attention for its humorous and star-studded ad for its new Sonata with remote smart-parking — relayed through Boston celebrities such as actors Chris Evans and John Krasinski, who lean heavily on their Beantown accents for humor. As the ad describes it, Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk” is hoping to leave a memorable impression.
The social media company is making its Super Bowl debut with a 60-second ad and has released a teaser for the spot, which will feature Chris Rock and Sylvester Stallone. The teaser shows Rock launching a rocket, with the tagline, “Get Ready to Rock.” The spot will focus on promoting Facebook’s Group service.
Planters’ Mr. Peanut
Probably the highest-profile Super Bowl teaser is Planters’ spot for Mr. Peanut, which depicts the iconic character sacrificing himself (and presumably dying in a mountainside explosion) to save the lives of actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh. But in light of Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter accident, the Kraft Heinz brand is taking a pause and considering its next step for the Mr. Peanut saga, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Doritos Cool Ranch
Doritos is tapping smash country-rap hit “Old Town Road” to persuade consumers to buy its Cool Ranch-flavored chips. The ad features Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and actor Sam Elliott engaging in a dance battle in an old West-themed setting.
Walmart
The retail giant will air a 60-second ad in the first quarter of the game that highlights its pickup service. The commercial relies on well-known characters and icons from movies like R2-D2 and C-3PO from “Star Wars” and Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story” to make the point that free pickup is available for everyone.
Snickers
The candy bar, making its sixth appearance in the Super Bowl in the past decade, takes a tongue-in-cheek approach by showing the inanities of modern life through a musical number. In the spot, people who are bewildered by grown men riding scooters and tech devices that listen to your conversations decide through song to dig a giant hole to feed the Earth a giant Snickers. “Maybe the world just needs a Snickers,” the ad says.
Avocados from Mexico
Avocados from Mexico, a return advertiser, is targeting perhaps the most avocado-friendly audience of the year: The fruit brand says more than 285 million pounds of avocados were imported into the U.S. from Mexico in the five weeks before the Super Bowl. Presumably many of those will be used in guacamole and dip for the big game.
The 30-second ad will air during the Super Bowl’s second quarter and features actor Molly Ringwald as an infomercial co-host selling ridiculous items for avocados, like helmets and suitcases.
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