Hello Super Bowl junkies,
I’m Jeanine Poggi, Ad Age’s senior editor, continuing our countdown to Super Bowl LV. In the days leading up to the game, which will air on CBS on Feb. 7, Ad Age brings you breaking news, analysis and first looks at the high-stakes, Big Game commercials—all in our Super Bowl Alerts newsletter. Sign up right here to get them in your email.
Unilever’s Hellmann’s is joining a growing list of first-time Super Bowl advertisers as the first mayonnaise brand in the game, Ad Age’s Jack Neff reports. Its entry is part of a major rotation that has seen such brands as Budweiser, Coke and Pepsi skip the game as seemingly unlikely brands like Huggies move in.
Amy Schumer will star in the ad, which focuses on Unilever’s greater objective, to reduce food waste. While Heinz has previously been in the game with ketchup ads, mayo isn’t typically seen as a game-day food. But the goal of the Hellmann’s ad is to show how mayo can be used to turn leftovers into new meals, and hence, reduce waste.
To keep track of all the advertisers running national spots in the game, bookmark Ad Age’s regularly updated Super Bowl ad chart.
As Hellmann’s joins the Super Bowl fray for the first time, it replaces Big Game stalwarts like Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi, Hyundai and Audi, which are sitting out of the game this year. Here’s a look at why these major marketers are sitting on the sidelines and what it means for first-time advertisers in Super Bowl LV.
Budweiser may not be bringing its Clydesdales back to the Super Bowl, as the brand sits out of the game for the first time in 37 years, but the beloved horses will make an appearance in some Super Bowl marketing nonetheless. Sam Adams will run ads in New York and Boston during the Big Game that pokes fun at Bud’s iconic horses, Ad Age’s E.J. Schultz reports. Watch the spot here.
E-Trade is returning to the Super Bowl with a message encouraging viewers to get their financial health in shape, Ad Age’s Adrianne Pasquarelli reports. This year’s commercial doesn’t shy away from the financial challenges of the pandemic-filled 2020, and notes the need for consumers to regain control of their finances this new year.
The online broker returns to the game after a two-year hiatus. Best known for its Super Bowl spots starring babies, E-Trade was last in the Big Game in 2018 with a spot highlighting the perils of not saving for retirement.
Re-watch E-Trade’s famous babies and dive further into Big Game ads of yore in Ad Age’s extensive Super Bowl ad archive.
Mtn Dew and Pringles both dropped teasers for their respective Super Bowl commercials today. Mtn Dew's shows a theme park dedicated to its new watermelon-flavored variety and introduces a dog made entirely of melons, with the line “Life changing flavor is coming to the Super Bowl.”
Pringles' six-second teaser shows something mysterious sticking out of the ocean with the words, “Our heroes return.” Pringles’ 2020 spot starred the animated characters from the Adult Swim show “Rick and Morty.”
With less than two weeks until kickoff, Super Bowl advertisers have started to release their Big Game spots. Check out the full commercials from Michelob Ultra, Chipotle, Mercari and Vroom, and bookmark this page to stay up to date as more Super Bowl ads are release.
Join Ad Age on Feb. 2 for a look at how brands are navigating the pandemic and addressing diversity in their ads for the 2021 game.
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