NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� On the field, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals played a nail biter during Super Bowl 56, with the Rams emerging victorious.
Off the field, Super Bowl advertisers were in a tough competition of their own. Advertisers shelled out up to $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl, so they pulled out all the stops to win over the estimated 100 million people that tune into the game. Big stars, humor and a heavy dose of nostalgia were prevalent throughout the night.
鈥淭he Super Bowl featured positive, up-beat advertising,鈥� said Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins. 鈥淔or the most part there was no mention of the pandemic, COVID or masks.鈥�
Chevrolet recreated the opening sequence to 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� to tout its all-electric Chevy Silverado 鈥� one of several auto ads promoting electric vehicles. This time, however, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow Soprano on the show that ran from 1999 to 2007, is in the driver鈥檚 seat instead of the Sopranos patriarch played by the late James Gandolfini.
鈥淎s soon as they started playing the music from 鈥楾he Sopranos鈥� they had me riveted,鈥� said Kelly O鈥橩eefe, managing partner of Brand Federation. 鈥淕reat link to a well-loved favorite with music that can silence a crowd. When it played you could hear a pin drop.鈥�
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, enlisted Larry David of 鈥淐urb Your Enthusiasm鈥� to convey that cryptocurrency is ready for the mainstream.
Toyota enlisted three famous 鈥淛oneses鈥� — Leslie Jones, Tommy Lee Jones and Rashida Jones — in its ad for the 2022 Tundra.
And Verizon鈥檚 ad had Jim Carrey revisit his 1996 role as 鈥淭he Cable Guy鈥� to promote its ultrafast 5G wireless network.
鈥淭his is one of the most engaging set of ads I鈥檝e seen in several years,鈥� said Kimberly Whitler, professor of marketing at the University of Virginia. 鈥淎lmost all focus on light-hearted entertainment.鈥�
Cryptocurrency exchanges made a splash during the game, with FTX, Crypto.com, eToro and Coinbase all airing ads, leading some to dub the game the 鈥淐rypto Bowl.鈥� They鈥檙e all aiming to make cryptocurrency more mainstream.
Coinbase鈥檚 ad just showed a QR code that changed colors while electronic music played. The QR code led to Coinbase鈥檚 web site. University of Virginia’s Whitler said the ad might drive signups but could fall flat for some.
鈥淎 floating QR code without a brand name may not be sufficient to drive interest,鈥� Whitler said. 鈥淭hey are likely hoping that curiosity will inspire people to put down the beer and pick up their phone … but that is a tall order without any other 鈥榬eason why鈥�.”
鈥�(Cryptocurrency exchanges) have a lot of money and they need to create a lot of change,鈥� said Mark DiMassimo, founder and creative chief of marketing agency DiGo. 鈥淭hey want to get crypto assets into as many hands as possible so people can start feeling comfortable playing that game.鈥�
In a moment of bad timing, Avocados from Mexico aired an ad that showed Julius Caesar and a rough bunch of gladiator fans outside what appears to be the Colosseum, enjoying guacamole and avocados. But the ad came after news that the U.S. government has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threat.
The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ban, which hits an industry with almost $3 billion in annual exports. Avocados for this year鈥檚 Super Bowl had already been exported in the weeks prior to the event.
General Motors, BMW, Kia, and Polestar all advertised electric vehicles. BMW showed Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus, the god of the sky (or in this commercial, the god of lightning) whose wife, Salma Hayek Pinault, gives him the EV BMW iX to spice up retirement. And Kia showcased its Kia EV6 electric vehicle in its ad along with a cute 鈥渞obo dog.鈥� Nissan’s ad also gave a nod to its all-electric 2023 Nissan Ariya.
Nostalgia for the past was everywhere as well.
In an ad for Rocket Mortgage, Anna Kendrick tells kids about the competitive housing market by using examples of classic kid toys like Barbie鈥檚 Dream House and Skeletor’s Castle Grayskull. GM enlisted Mike Myers for an 鈥淎ustin Powers鈥�-themed ad that features a reprise of his role as Austin Powers鈥� nemesis, Dr. Evil.
T-Mobile reunited Zach Braff and Donald Faison, stars of the sitcom 鈥淪crubs鈥� that aired from 2001 to 2010. And canned cocktail brand Cutwater Spirits harkened back to an iconic 1997 Apple campaign, 鈥淗ere鈥檚 to the Crazy Ones,鈥� with a twist. The black-and-white ad that honors its drinkers with the salute, 鈥淗ere鈥檚 to the Lazy Ones.鈥�
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