Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s to air first Super Bowl spot
Another ad tapping into America’s outdoors obsession will debut this Sunday. Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s will air a 60-second spot during the Super Bowl that celebrates the outdoors as a place consumers can turn to during these “trying times.”
Called “Get Back to Nature,” the commercial—the retailers’ first in the Big Game—talks about the healing power of the outside world. The spot, inspired by Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris, shows consumers planning their journeys, before switching to images of forests and lakes, mountains and a sunrise.
“To everyone in our great outdoor family, you may be feeling a little cooped up, but don’t forget there’s still rocks to be skipped, trails to be trampled, fish to be caught,” says a voiceover. “In these trying times, we need nature more than ever. We need nature to remind us that like a sunrise in the turning of the tides, these challenges will pass."
The Springfield, Missouri-based brand said in a release that it is excited to part of a Super Bowl that includes its home state team, the Kansas City Chiefs. The spot was envisioned by Morris and produced in-house with support from Dave Swaine of Kuhl/Swaine, located in St. Louis.
A Bass Pro spokesperson declined to provide further comment.
The retail chain is not the only brand entering the Super Bowl with a message about the outdoors. Scotts Miracle Gro, which has seen sales skyrocket as consumers invest in gardening and backyard improvement, tapped Martha Stewart and John Travolta for its Big Game debut.
Products tied to the outdoors, including gear and footwear, have had healthy sales in recent months. In the third quarter of last year, camping equipment sales increased more than 25%, for example, according to data from market research firm NPD Group. Matt Powell, VP and senior industry advisor of sports at NPD, recently credited some of the rise to consumers “feeling safer outdoors as opposed to indoors.”