A reunion fit for “The Office” fans is among Ad Age’s favorite celebrity brand collabs of 2024.
Some of the year’s most memorable ads were fueled by star power—and lingered in the public consciousness beyond a single airing.
Celebrity brand collaborations continue to become more elaborate with long rollouts and multiple extensions across media. Streamable music was a common theme among some of this year’s top celebrity ads. And the Super Bowl was once again a go-to venue for many brands’ A-lister budgets.
Here, Ad Age ranks this year’s top celebrity brand collaborations:
This year’s Super Bowl ads were once again a deluge of A-listers attempting to help brands stand out from Big Game noise. In creating memorable moments, Verizon pulled off something special by pairing its ad starring Beyoncé with the pop superstar’s “Cowboy Carter” album announcement.
Outside of sending the Beyhive running to social, the spot itself was also a delight. The singer and actor Tony Hale employ increasingly elaborate shenanigans attempting to break the internet, although Verizon’s network ultimately proves too strong to crash.
And a shoutout to another 2024 starring role for Beyoncé, who recently brought her song “Levii’s Jeans” from “Cowboy Carter” to an ad for Levi’s.
Another buzzy Super Bowl spot was Dunkin’s continuation of its Ben Affleck storyline. A testament to the fast passing of time (and celebrity relationships), the spot follows Affleck creating boy band The Dunkings to impress his (now ex-)wife Jennifer Lopez.
Matt Damon, Tom Brady, Jack Harlow and Fat Joe also make appearances in the spot. The campaign also included a catchy streamable track and a very orange and pink limited-edition line of Dunkings tracksuits that reportedly sold out in minutes.
Megan Thee Stallion is no stranger to brand collaborations, but this year the rapper seemed particularly busy in adland, incorporating multiple partnerships into tracks or performances for fans to experience outside of commercial breaks.
She kicked off the year with Planet Fitness, appearing as Mother Fitness—a purple, cloud-riding deity of exercise. The brand partnership included a live performance in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
With Amazon, Megan Thee Stallion explored her various shopping personas, which became increasingly unhinged. The performer released a branded track called “It’s Prime Day” as an Amazon Music bonus track on her self-titled album that was released this summer.
Most recently, Megan Thee Stallion starred in a celeb-loaded ad for Pepsi and Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” which also featured actors Lamorne Morris and Jake Lacy as well as NFL players Josh Allen, Derrick Henry, Justin Jefferson and Travis Kelce. She remixed Queen’s “We Will Rock You” for the partnership, and donned her gladiator garb while hosting MTV’s VMAs for an additional branded moment.
Perhaps the Super Bowl spot that popped the most was Michael Cera’s attempt to convince viewers he played a role in developing skincare brand CeraVe. The Big Game spot was not only hilarious but featured a clever rollout with faux paparazzi shots and social teasers that led into the full-length spot’s punchline. The commercial was one of Ad Age’s highest-rated in this year’s Super Bowl and won the Super Clio.
It can be tricky reuniting beloved characters from shows such as “The Office,” particularly in the age of manic fandom and vicious online discourse. But AT&T Business managed to bring together Dunder Mifflin favorites through an extensive campaign featuring a six-minute video, LinkedIn posts, a Spotify album and a special edition pillow.
The campaign followed Dwight Schrute actor Rainn Wilson’s journey to launch a pillow with speakers that play his voice lulling the user to sleep. The comedic ad not only starred Wilson, but fellow “The Office” stars Jenna Fischer, Craig Robinson, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery and Brian Baumgartner in a spin on the NBC sitcom’s style.
