When Victoria's Secret decided to return to the Super Bowl in 2008 after a nine-year hiatus, the retailer chose a fourth-quarter spot starring one of the most popular faces of the brand, "Angel" Adriana Lima.
It was a smart choice. That ad, featuring the lingerie-clad Lima seductively playing with a football, became the most-seen ad in the game, Nielsen reported, with a record 103.7 million viewers at the time -- not counting online views of the commercial.Considering how well that spot performed and what a success she's proven to be as the face of Victoria's Secret, it's no wonder that the lovely Lima was the pick for not one, but two, marketers' Super Bowl ads in 2012. Both Kia and Teleflora have chosen her to star in their spots, and considering the millions spent on airtime during the game, they are hoping for some serious ROI.
Ms. Lima, who's been in commercials for numerous brands over the years, including Doritos and Maybelline, told Hulu's AdZone a few days ago that a great Super Bowl ad should be "cute, flirty and funny." (She checks the first two boxes with ease, comedy might be something she needs to work on.)
There are echoes of that sultry Vicky's ad from a few years ago in Telefora's Super Bowl ad.
For Kia's ad, which is more psychedelic than it is sultry, the scantily-clad Ms. Lima stands on a racetrack, waving a flag for the new Optima model. In what is perhaps the ultimate vote of confidence in their chosen spokeswoman, Kia released a sort of reverse-teaser -- a five-hour-long video (in typical ad-buy time, that 's an 18,000-second spot) that shows Ms. Lima in a skimpy bodysuit, waving a flag slowly back and forth.
Meanwhile, another world-famous Brazilian supermodel, Gisele Bundchen, has begun a different sort of Super Bowl campaign in support of her husband, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
"My sweet friends and family," an email sent to various friends and family said, according to the New York Post. "This Sunday will be a really important day in my husband's life. He and his team worked so hard to get to this point and now they need us more than ever to send them positive energy so they can fulfill their dream of winning this Super Bowl ... So I kindly ask all of you to join me on this positive chain and pray for him, so he can feel confident, healthy and strong. Envision him happy and fulfilled experiencing with his team a victory this Sunday. Thank you for your love and support. Love, G :)"
