Watch Verizon’s Beyoncé Super Bowl ad

After lots of lemon squeezing, Verizon finally made lemonade. The carrier has been laying the groundwork for an expected Super Bowl spot with Beyoncé for days. Tonight, it confirmed such speculation with a 60-second ad featuring the superstar singer that aired in the third quarter. The ad, which was created with Ogilvy, shows the icon repeatedly trying to break the internet but Verizon's network is too powerful. Helped by actor Tony Hale, she tries stunt after stunt, including BarBEY—a Barbie reference—running for Beyoncé of the United States and trying to be the first woman to launch the first rocket performance from space. Shortly after the halftime show, the marketer ran a brief teaser, followed soon after with the full spot. Beyoncé also announced a new album and drop date of March 29 in the commercial, and then confirmed the news on her Instagram page. The video appears to suggest the album will have a country theme. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) This is the first major effort from new Verizon Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland, who joined the brand last month. When Berland, a marketing veteran with stints at Peloton and Twitter under her belt, was first appointed to the position, ad industry experts said they hoped she would return Verizon to its large-scale branding campaigns. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Enter here Star power Indeed, Verizon has had plenty of Super Bowl ads with celebrity frontliners before this year. In 2022, it ran a Big Game spot with Jim Carrey reprising his titular “The Cable Guy” role. A year earlier, a Verizon spot starred Samuel L. Jackson. In 2020, it ran an ad voiced by Harrison Ford. The carrier also had spots in the 2019, 2018, 2011 and 2005 Super Bowls. Berland herself teased this year’s game appearance on LinkedIn. Her post on Friday featured Hale contemplating a Super Bowl ad with a silver horse, in an apparent reference to the cover of Beyoncé’s 2022 album Renaissance. In addition, Hale, who is no stranger to working as an assistant to divas following his turn as Gary, the bag man for Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ VP in HBO’s “Veep,” was shown squeezing lemons for an unnamed woman in a teaser spot that ran last week on Instagram. That video clearly nodded to Beyoncé’s 2016 album “Lemonade,” especially since it included a snippet of the singer’s “My House” song. Bey herself has been in several ads before, for brands including Adidas and Pepsi. She memorably starred in a Gladiator-style 2004 commercial with Britney Spears and Pink for Pepsi that many feel was Super Bowl-worthy. Last week, Beyoncé announced her new haircare brand Cécred debuting Feb. 20. The brand is, unsurprisingly, expected to be popular. Verizon was the sponsor of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour last year. Ad Age Leading Women Luncheon Join us Aug. 7 in New York as we recognize this year’s honorees Buy your ticket today

Watch Verizon’s Beyoncé Super Bowl ad

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