Bai Jumps in Super Bowl With Justin Timberlake

Beverage marketer Bai Brands -- which ran a regional Super Bowl ad last year -- is going big this year with a national spot starring Justin Timberlake, whom the brand refers to as its "chief flavor officer." The 30-second ad was made by Bai's in-house creative team led by Chief Creative Officer Chad Portas. In making the leap to a national ad, the brand cited the results from last year's regional spot, called "Horse Whisperer." "When we saw the impact that last year's commercial had on our brand awareness and engagement, we knew we had to do something again, but on a national stage," Ben Weiss, Bai's founder and CEO, said in a statement. He said Mr. Timberlake "played an integral role in the development" of this year's ad. "Justin has been working closely with our team on several new projects and we are excited to see them all come to life in 2017. This is just the beginning." Bai signed up the pop star late last year. He is involved in new flavor innovation, product launches, marketing campaigns and digital content, the brand stated. Dr Pepper Snapple Group announced late last year plans to acquire Bai for $1.7 billion in a deal expected to close in the first quarter. Bai promotes its beverages as having fresh fruit flavor and antioxidants with no artificial sweeteners. The marketer recently introduced Bai Black, a line of sodas that include flavors like cola, root beer and citrus. Bai's Super Bowl media buy was handled by Maxus, which is owned by WPP's GroupM. Dr Pepper Snapple Group's media agency is Interpublic's Initiative. Other beverage marketers in the Super Bowl are Anheuser Busch InBev -- which plans to run ads for Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Busch -- and Pepsi, which is sponsoring the halftime show. Coca-Cola Co., which is a regular Super Bowl advertiser, has yet to confirm its plans.

Bai Jumps in Super Bowl With Justin Timberlake

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