Serena Williams—feared for years on the tennis court—is equally intimidating at the bowling alley. That is the premise of a Michelob Ultra Super Bowl ad, which assembles six sports stars at the so-called Superior Bowl where they take their competitive fire to an unlikely venue.
Steve Buscemi, who played a bowler in the 1998 movie “The Big Lebowski,” appears as the bartender. He looks on as NFL great Peyton Manning, golfer Brooks Koepka and soccer legend Alex Morgan and basketball stars Jimmy Butler and Nneka Ogwumike compete on the lanes. But the real star is Williams, who struts into the alley at the end, instilling fear in the sports stars, as Buscemi says “game time.”
Wieden+Kennedy New York handled the spot with Rachel Morrison directing. It will run in the game as a 60-second ad. Ultra is also debuting a "Spare Clothes Clothing" collection and has arranged for Williams to wear a limited-edition Superior Bowl bomber jacket that will be part of an integration with NBC's broadcast of the game.