Software that will be able to show the breezy patterns at MetLife Stadium is among the technologies Fox will use in covering Super Bowl XLVIII.
     |
Tracy Perlman turned her love of sports into a marketing career and became a member of the very small club of women in senior positions in major professional leagues.
| |
Sponsors hope to win attention and praise for their expensive ads, but the commercials also have to sell something.
| |
Chevrolet, Audi, Kia and Toyota are among repeat Super Bowl advertisers, but Jaguar will be a first timer.
| |
As the clock ticks toward the Super Bowl kickoff, few people are working the pre-promotion circuit quite like John Stamos, Bob Saget and Dave Coulier. The former Full House co-stars make a reunion appearance in Dannon's game day ad for its Oikos Greek yogurt line, and the trio isn't wasting one moment of its renewed pop-culture relevance.
On Wednesday, the avuncular triumvirate hosted a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session, in which they tackled tough questions like, "How can I join Jesse and the Rippers?" and "To each of you, what is your favorite type of pie?"
Next, they were on to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where they reprised their Full House roles and hairstyles in a sketch (which you can watch below) about helping Fallon overcome his anxiety about hosting The Tonight Show.
If you need still more of these three, you can watch a litany of videos created during their Dannon shoot on the brand's "Bromance" microsite. And if you need more than all that, you may have a serious problem and need professional help.
| |
Sure, most Super Bowl ads feel like they're just a bunch of bull, but that's the literal and likable truth of Chevrolet's game day ad for the Silverado.
"Romance" puts a lighthearted spin on the Silverado's ongoing campaign from Leo Burnett Detroit and voiced by John Cusack. We see a Silverado owner carting his "very eligible bachelor" bull over long distances and into the company of a veritable heifer harem.
Less self-serious than some of the campaign's earlier installments, this spot should win over a fair share of Super Bowl viewers, especially those eagle-eyed enough to notice the "hot sausage" sign spotted en route to the livestock's romantic rendezvous.
For many more updates on this year's Super Bowl advertisers, be sure to follow Adweek's Super Bowl Ad Tracker.
| |
Newcastle Brown Ale, which didn't buy airtime in Sunday's Super Bowl but is doing a wonderfully silly campaign about how it almost did, rolled out more content from Droga5 this week—including the hilarious endorsement below by Anna Kendrick.
Just like last week's Newcastle trailer was the year's best Super Bowl teaser, Kendrick's performance will surely be the funniest among this year's celebs.
Newcastle has done a lot of great stuff around this faux Super Bowl campaign, including a brilliantly self-mocking native ad on Gawker as well as bogus focus-group videos and another endorsement video starring Keyshawn Johnson.
"It seemed like the obvious thing we had to do, and unfair to the world if we didn't," Newcastle brand director Quinn Kilbury said of the Super Bowl ambush. "The Super Bowl is great. The game is amazing, everyone loves the game. But it's become much more about marketing in some ways, and the over-the-top ridiculousness that surrounds it. I saw a lot of that when I was doing the real Super Bowl marketing stuff over at Pepsi, so it's close to my heart, and it is a little ridiculous sometimes. For a brand that likes to poke fun at marketing, we had to poke fun at Super Bowl marketing at some point."
He added: "The brief to Droga5 was, essentially, hijack the conversation around Super Bowl marketing. We had a couple of ideas, but essentially that was it. At first I think we saw doing something around the game itself, but then we thought if you're going to do the Super Bowl, or the Super [Bleep], as we're calling it, you have to be true to the whole marketing show. You have to treat the commercial like it's a $100 million blockbuster."
See the rest of the content below.
| |
As Super Bowl ads continue to roll out days before the event, Jaguar has joined the trend and released its first game day spot, "Rendezvous."
The 60-second ad from Spark 44 features a trio of "British villains," played by Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong. Unfortunately, we don't see them pulling off a billion-dollar caper or foiling some James Bond-ian superspy. But we do get to hear them wax eloquently about why Brits make better bad guys, and that's something.
Personally, I had wondered how they'd handle the pronunciation of the British brand, which is "Jag-waar" in America and "Jag-you-are" in the U.K. The burden of the word lands on Strong (Lord Blackwood in 2009's Sherlock Holmes), who basically says it so fast, you'll be lucky to catch it at all.
While the spot's star power is sure to merit some game day buzz, the execution does seem to suffer a bit from a "too many cooks in the kitchen" vibe. The ad is called both "British Villains" and "Rendezvous"; the hashtag is #GoodToBeBad; the URL is BritishVillains.com; and the tagline is, "How alive are you?" After all that, is there still room in your brain for the name of the car? (Hint: It's the F-Type coupe.)
| |
Ellen DeGeneres will be among the parade of celebrities in this Sunday's Super Bowl, as she dances with bears and wolves in a stylish and amusing Goldilocks and the Three Bears parody for Beats Music, the subscription-based online music-streaming service.
You can see the full spot—or at least a version of it, running longer than 60 seconds—within the clip below, which will air Thursday on DeGeneres's talk show. The Beats Music app is "something I absolutely love," she says in introducing it. "I had so much fun shooting the commercial. And you're really not supposed to see it until the Super Bowl, but it's my birthday and my show, so I get to do what I want."
Beats Music also aired a spot on the Grammys that was written and narrated by Trent Reznor, who serves as chief creative officer for the service.
See the 90-second version of the Reznor spot here.
| |
Afin de faire parler pendant le Super Bowl du 2 février prochain, la marque Kia a décidé de vanter le modèle K900 en rendant hommage à la trilogie Matrix, avec un Laurence Fishburne en Morpheus proposant à un couple de découvrir une nouvelle conception du luxe. Un spot de l’agence David&Goliath.
A sequel will run during the Super Bowl to a Cheerios ad that received an unanticipated quantity of baldly racist online condemnation for the interracial family at its heart.
| |
While the National Football League season is about to end, EA Sports is preparing the next version of its Madden NFL video game, adding new movements recorded using stunt players.
| |
Yesterday, we brought you news of David&Goliath’s teaser for their big game spot, “The Truth,” promoting the all-new 2015 K900, Kia’s first-ever luxury car. Today, David&Goliath and Kia revealed the extended, 90 second version of their Super Bowl ad, designed to “dispel the notion that tradition and history are what makes a luxury sedan,” according to Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing & communications, KMA.
“The Truth” features Laurence Fishburne reprising his role as Morpheus from The Matrix. Morpheus offers a couple waiting for the valet outside a restaurant a choice: “Take the blue key, you go back to the luxury you know. Take the red key, and you’ll never look at luxury the same again.” (Spoiler alert: They take the red key.) Fishburne repeats the word “luxury” ad nauseum during the spot’s first 30 seconds or so, really hammering home that Kia is now offering a luxury vehicle. The spot manages to contain a lot of the Matrix references you’d expect, like a bending spoon and an explosion filled action sequence. But at the same time, “The Truth,” via Fishburne, manages at least one big surprise.
The 60 second version of “The Truth” will debut during the third quarter of the Super Bowl this Sunday, Feb. 2, launching the Kia’s campaign for the 2015 K900 in earnest, and marking Kia’s fifth consecutive year advertising in the big game. You can expect more Matrix-themed advertising from David&Goliath and Kia. Before and after the Super Bowl, David&Goliath’s integrated campaign “will incorporate TV, cinema, digital, print, experiential, social media and CRM components, all drawing heavily on imagery and ideas from the films.” Credits after the jump. continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
GoDaddy will try a real-world prank/stunt in the second of its two Super Bowl commercials this Sunday, as a woman will quit her job in front of the world to pursue her dream of starting her own business. The Web-hosting company released a teaser for the spot on Tuesday in which actor John Turturro sets up the premise.
"Let's talk about dreams, and the people who choose to pursue them. Like [BLEEP]," he says, as a picture frame with a question mark appears. "She's a real person with a real dream of starting her very own business. And she's got a message for her boss in front of 100 million people."
The gambit is clearly inspired by prank videos. Presumably the woman's boss had no idea this was coming, and will have a genuine reaction—positive or negative—that could be fun to see. UPDATE: GoDaddy sent through some more information. "Her boss doesn't know!" the company says. "He or she is going to find out while watching the commercial with the rest of the viewers—after the commercial, a formal resignation letter will be delivered and she'll give her two-week notice."
The stunt also recalls Marina Shifrin's spectacular late-night job-quitting dance from the super-viral video she posted last year. People just like seeing other people stick it to their boss. The concept would work better for a jobs site, but GoDaddy could make it work, though at 30 seconds it might be tough.
GoDaddy is evolving its messaging away from sleaze and toward a more respectable focus on women as business owners. The company's other 2014 Super Bowl spot, already released in full, stars Danica Patrick as one of many bodybuilders seeking a spray tan from a GoDaddy-using business owner.
| |
More from W+K, as W+K New York have unveiled their latest “This is Sportscenter” offering.
The 30 second spot, “Long Week,” celebrates Super Bowl XLVIII with a fun look at the rivalry between Denver Broncos’ mascot Miles and Seattle Seahawks’ mascot Blitz. Set in an elevator on ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut campus, the spot stars SportsCenter hosts Jay Crawford and Steve Levy, who witness a tense, awkward exchange between the rival mascots. Credit has to go to director Jim Jenkins and the guys playing the mascots for perfect comedic timing. At the end of the spot, Everett and Levy reveal that the two mascots have been engaging in such behavior all week. Hopefully Miles and Blitz don’t kill each other before the big game.
The timely “Long Week” is designed to promote ESPN’s weeklong coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII, which began yesterday with ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike kicking off 115 hours of TV and radio programming from New York City. ESPN’s programming originates from their Herald Square and Times Square Studios all week, up until Superbowl Sunday. Keep an eye out for “Long Week” during that coverage. Credits after the jump. continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
W+K Portland and Coca-Cola have pre-released their Super Bowl ad, “Going All The Way.” One of two big game spots for Coca-Cola, “Going All The Way,” was shot in Ashwaubenon, a suburb of Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the exception of the final moments, which were shot at Lambeau Field.
The 60 second spot, directed by Jake Scott and set to House of Pain’s classic “Jump Around,” tells the story of Adrian, a small high school football benchwarmer who finally gets his chance to shine. “Don’t mess this up again, Adrian,” his teammate says when he’s put in the game, telling us all we need to know about Adrian’s past on the playing field. But things break Adrian’s way, and he’s given the opportunity to make the play of a lifetime.
Most of the cast of “Going All The Way” was made up of actual Green Bay-area residents, and Lambeau Field’s groundskeeper of 17 years has a featured role in the spot. “‘Going All The Way’ is a story that celebrates a young man accomplishing his dreams. It’s also a celebration of the amazing town of Ashwaubenon, Wis. coming together and our wonderful partnership with the city of Green Bay,” said Katie Bayne, President, North America Brands, Coca-Cola North America.
The feel-good spot will air during the second half of the Super Bowl, while Coca-Cola’s other big game ad will air during the second quarter. This marks Coca-Cola’s eighth consecutive year advertising during the Super Bowl. To celebrate the launch of “Going All The Way,” Coca-Cola has pledged to donate $50,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Triple Play program when the spot reaches 10,000 shares. So please feel free to share “Going All The Way” with friends, family and colleagues. Stick around for a behind-the-scenes video about the making of “Going All The Way” after the jump. continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
With the big game less than a week away, the folks at El Segundo, CA-based David&Goliath have released a teaser for their Kia K900 Super Bowl spot.
The “Official K900 Game Day 2014 Teaser” sees Laurence Fishburne reprising his role as Morpheus from The Matrix trilogy. Morpheus returns to the Construct, where he fiddles with a classic Radiola TV set in an attempt to kick back with some chips and watch the big game. The trailer doesn’t really let us know what to expect on Sunday, other than Fishburne as Morpheus sometime in the third quarter, as it’s designed to keep us guessing. The spot won’t be the first featuring Fishburne promoting the K900, as he narrated December’s “Preconceived Notions” ad, which may offer more clues to the Super Bowl spot than the teaser itself. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Audi's 2014 Super Bowl ad, like the mutant animal it imagines, is a bit of an odd beast.
Following two teasers, the automaker on Monday released the full spot, from Venables Bell & Partners and director Noam Murro. It features a man and woman looking in a pet store for the perfect dog. When they can't choose between a Chihuahua and a Doberman Pinscher, the store suggests they get both—a blended "Doberhuahua" breed. Sounds like a fine plan, until things go awry (in the couple's imagination, at least) and a pack of Doberhuahuas begins to chew up an entire city.
Turns out the whole point is not to compromise. "The all-new Audi A3. Designed without compromise," says the on-screen text at the end. (The couple end up not compromising by choosing a not-lethal mutt from a rescue shelter.)
The visuals in the ad are certainly amusing, and a Doberhuahua attacking Sarah McLachlan's guitar is a welcome sight. But it seems like a bit of a roundabout way to get to a message—#StayUncompromised—that could apply to almost anything.
Last year's "Prom" spot had a similarly vague message—"Bravery. It's what defines us"—but was well liked because of the winning storyline. This year's plot crosses over into such absurdism that the message about not compromising feels like a disconnect. (And speaking of crossing over, combining two animals to make a new one, in a car commercial, could make you expect a message about a crossover or a hybrid—and the A3 is neither.)
Dogs, violence and Sarah McLachlan. Like the Doberhuahua itself, it's an odd combination.
| |
Super Bowl halftime sponsor Pepsi decided to get an early start on Sunday night when the gridiron met the Grammys for an NFL-style extravaganza featuring the musical stylings of football stars.
"You music artists, you're always giving football the best halftime shows," Deion Sanders announces to a faux Grammy crowd. "So tonight, football is paying music back." The result, from agency Scratch, is about as over-the-top and occasionally cringeworthy as you might expect, with performances from Terry Bradshaw, Shannon Sharpe, Mike Ditka and more.
Maybe we'll get lucky and this Sunday's halftime show, featuring Bruno Mars, will pack all of its anticipated insanity into a mere two-and-a-half minutes as well.
Pepsi is expected to air a single 30-second spot, created by ad agency Mekanism, during the Super Bowl broadcast.
| |
All the pre-game hype and multimillion-dollar TV buys can't put the Super Bowl and sports fandom in perspective as sharply as this newspaper ad from Kara Christian, a 58-year-old Denver Broncos fan stricken with breast cancer.
The longtime season-ticket holder has followed the team since she was 5, back in 1960, when the Broncos played their first game, and she regularly attends contests at Sports Authority Field at Mile High wearing a big orange wig. She's the kind of ardent fan who arrives at games early to greet home-team players with hugs as they walk to the locker room.
Christian, whose prognosis is terminal, received a field pass for the AFC Championship Game in Denver and a football signed by every Bronco. To say thanks and spur the team to victory in the Super Bowl, she took out a half-page ad in the sports section of Saturday's Denver Post.
She writes: "You shall never know how much your kindness and support has meant to me throughout my illness. An autographed football has made the darkest of days shine brightly with an orange glow. A hug has given me the strength to remain Bronco tough. A field pass has given me encouragement to make it through another day. A phone call has meant the orange and blue world to me." She closes: "I was born a Bronco, I bleed orange and I will proudly die a Bronco," and signs the ad "The Bronco Lady." (Christian qualified for two Super Bowl tickets in the team's season-ticket lottery and plans to attend the game.)
She opens the message by addressing the Broncos as "teammates." This speaks to the intense, intimate bond that die-hard fans have with our favorite teams, ties that inform and enrich our daily lives in ways causal fans can't understand. In our hearts and minds, we're part of the team. We rise with each victory, sink with each defeat. Some say sports isn't life and death. For true believers, it's nothing less. In the best cases, this energy flows in both directions, giving strength to fans and players. It's a spiritual experience that transcends the cynicism of celebrity, contracts and even commercials.
I don't care what USA Today's Ad Meter says after the game. Kara Christian's ad wins the Super Bowl this year.
| |
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
