T-Mobile Super Bowl ad brings back ‘Scrubs’ duo—joined by Jason Momoa and Jennifer Beals

T-Mobile is returning to the Super Bowl with two familiar faces from its prior ads—this time, joined by two other stars. The carrier’s fourth-quarter commercial is its latest musical-style ad starring Zach Braff and Donald Faison, who played best friends on the sitcom “Scrubs.” It will air nationally on CBS, Nickelodeon and Paramount+. In the new spot, Braff and Faison go to a Super Bowl party at the home of actor Jason Momoa, who lets them know the party is canceled because he’s waiting on the cable/internet guy. That’s when Braff and Faison break out into dance, literally singing the praises of T-Mobile internet. The song in the ad is a play on the ’80s hit “Flashdance... What a Feeling” by Irene Cara. The duo’s song inspires Momoa to join in, and he busts out a vocal solo. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Enter here While the premise of the new ad feels similar to past T-Mobile ads, it is a bit more stylized and features more special effects and dance moves, such as the backward spin Momoa executes by jumping off a bench. The ad ends with Momoa getting doused with water, emulating the iconic scene from “Flashdance.” The star of that movie, Jennifer Beals, makes an appearance at the end of the commercial. The 60-second spot was created and produced by Panay Films, which also created T-Mobile’s two 2023 Super Bowl ads: a musical featuring John Travolta singing and paying homage to his “Grease” role and a conversation between actor Bradley Cooper and his mom. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Momoa was someone Panay Films hoped to get from day one. “We found him incredibly compelling and there’s also something about his physical stature we had a lot of fun with that, with the angles,” said Andrew Panay, CEO of Panay Films. This is the third iteration of Panay’s musical ads that star the Faison-Braff duo. “Audiences love franchises,” Panay said. “They fall in love with characters over time and they really fall in love with their tones.” “As long as the audience is still interested and at the same time we can keep evolving and pushing the creative in a way that works for the brand and is landing the message, then there's still room to go,” added Panay Films Head of Creative Brian Klugman, who directed the spot alongside Walt Becker. Beyond advertising, Panay is also a producer for many films, including “Wedding Crashers,” “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” and “She’s All That.” The connection to Hollywood helps the agency to easily match celebrities with brands. As a result, the working relationship becomes “less transactional,” Klugman said. “These [celebrities] are coming in and we’re auditioning with them and they’re like partners in how we’re going to tell this story,” said Klugman. “They’re working on the script, the ideas, the jokes.” The idea for the latest ad launched when Klugman and Braff were on a business trip in Miami with some T-Mobile executives. They found some downtime in a pool, where the pair brainstormed lyrics that made it into the spot.

T-Mobile Super Bowl ad brings back ‘Scrubs’ duo—joined by Jason Momoa and Jennifer Beals

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