Super Bowl Alert: FanDuel has a decision to make, BMW reveals ad details and Google and Dove get serious

Ad Age is counting down to Super Bowl LVIII. In the days leading up to the game, which will air on CBS on Feb. 11, Ad Age will bring you breaking news, analysis and first looks at the high-stakes, Big Game commercials—all in our Super Bowl newsletter. Sign up right here to get them via email. FanDuel’s decision As fans and family members mourn the death of actor Carl Weathers at the age of 76, FanDuel has a decision to make about how to proceed with a Super Bowl campaign in which he was a co-star. In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the brand said it is “adjusting our campaign accordingly out of respect for the family during their time of grief.” No details were provided. While Weathers' Big Game role is a small matter in the grand scheme—and attention will rightly be placed on his acting legacy that included roles as Apollo Creed in “Rocky” and a golf teacher in “Happy Gilmore”—the situation still adds some complexities to FanDuel’s ongoing Super Bowl efforts, for which Weathers has played a significant role. He has been playing a trainer who is helping Rob Gronkowski attempt a field goal before the Feb. 11 game. The plan was to air the live kick on CBS before the game begins, with FanDuel’s second-quarter ad to be an outcome-specific “celebration” based on the result, as described by the brand in January. That tone might not now fit the current circumstances, so FanDuel must decide whether to continue with that approach in some way, or scrap the idea. Tragic deaths have affected Super Bowl ads before. After NBA legend Kobe Byrant died in a helicopter crash in 2020 days before the Super Bowl, brands made edits to remove anything that could be deemed insensitive, including Hyundai-owned Genesis, which edited its ad after it was released to remove a helicopter. To keep track of all the advertisers running national spots in the game, and their teasers, bookmark Ad Age’s regularly updated Super Bowl ad chart. Google and Dove debut ads Other brands continue to release teasers and Super Bowl ads for the game, including Google, which is out with its 60-second ad that will run in the second quarter. It promotes the Pixel 8 phone’s AI-assisted camera through the story of a blind man using it. Dove’s ad is also on the serious side, continuing the brand’s longtime effort to raise awareness of body image issues by showing scenes of girls falling while playing sports—contending that it is not the knocks that stop girls from playing sports, but rather low body confidence. For more on teasers and other pigskin marketing news, check out our Super Bowl chart. Humor still rules Most advertisers are leaning into humor, such as Booking.com, which enlisted Tina Fey for an ad released today that also includes some doppelgangers—Jane Krakowski as “Splurgy Tina” and Glenn Close as “Wild Tina”—to plug the hospitality brand’s flexible offerings. Other spots debuting today include PepsiCo’s Starry, whose ad has hip-hop artist Ice Spice recounting the reasons for breaking up with her former lemon-lime soda (a not-so-subtle reference to category leader Coca-Cola’s Sprite). Drumstick, meanwhile, released its ad with comedian Eric Andre and its Dr. Umstick spokesdoll in a silly airplane scene. Hear from brands advertising in the game at Ad Age’s virtual Super Bowl event on Feb. 6. Register and learn more at AdAge.com/SuperBowlPlaybook. Usher and ice skating Two of the four automakers in the game today revealed more creative details. BMW—which earlier this week revealed the spot from Goodby Silverstein & Partners would star Christopher Walken—hinted in a teaser today that Usher, who is performing in the halftime show, will join the actor in its spot. Kia, meantime, played into girl power with a teaser showing a girl ice skating as her voiceover says, “There’s power within us all, it’s what we do with it that matters.” (The ad will plug Kia's EV9 electric crossover.) Jesus is back Among the most widely discussed—and debated—2023 Super Bowl ads came from the “He Gets Us” campaign designed to rebrand Jesus for the contemporary world. Campaign organizers today confirmed it would bring the effort back to this year’s Bowl, with a few changes, including being overseen by a newly formed nonprofit called Come Near. The 2023 campaign came under the Servant Foundation, a connection that drew some criticism because the organization reportedly donated millions of dollars to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit that has led policy fights to roll back abortion rights and allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ customers. Representatives did not provide specifics on who donates to Come Near. Taylor Swift watch The pop star and girlfriend of Kansas City Chief tight end Travis Kelce continues to dominate pre-Super Bowl chatter, with plenty of observers wondering if Swift will make it to the game in Las Vegas after performing in Japan. The Associated Press took a closer look, noting that private aircraft spaces in the Vegas area are already accounted for, while also deducing that “barring delays, if Swift’s flight to Las Vegas takes 11 or 12 hours, she could arrive in Las Vegas the day before the game after crossing nine time zones and the international date line.” The Japanese Embassy in Washington, even weighed in, posting a social media statement suggesting Swift can make it, while weaving in a few Swift song titles. Today in Super Bowl history Super Bowl LIV was played four years ago today when the Chiefs beat the 49ers (a matchup that will be repeated on Feb. 11). The 2020 game was played on Groundhog Day, the unofficial Bill Murray holiday that Jeep seized on with a Super Bowl ad that had the actor reprising his role in the 1993 hit “Groundhog Day.” Stephen Tobolowsky plays nerdy insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the movie, and this week, Tobolowsky is back in another ad referencing the film—this time from Lay’s, which has Tobolowsky as a potato chip-buying customer who has his own déjà vu moment in the checkout aisle. For a complete look at Big Game commercial history, check out Ad Age’s Super Bowl ad archive.

Super Bowl Alert: FanDuel has a decision to make, BMW reveals ad details and Google and Dove get serious

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