From Carrie Bradshaw To Ridley Scott, Super Bowl LIII Commercials Are Innovative, Funny And Bold

This year’s Super Bowl commercials are sure to elicit the usual mix of groans and guffaws the mega million dollar spots are known for, on a night when many people watch the game as much for the commercials as the football. As has been the case in recent years, many of the highly promoted commercials feature celebrities from TV, music and sports, often capitalizing on a past character or poking fun at themselves. The crowd loves the cameos, and they are often a pretty paycheck for the stars. This year’s Super Bowl will also see the return of several brands after a few years off, the continued domination of Anheuser-Busch and a number of newcomers.

Favorite Characters Return For Charity, And The King Is Back

The Dude and Carrie Bradshaw are an item. Well, sort of. At least when it comes to their new affection for Stella Artois and Water.org. In this funny spot that resurrects Jeff Bridges’ famous Big Lebowski character and Sarah Jessica’s Parker’s iconic New Yorker, the duo takes a break from their regular orders and opt for a Stella instead. For every Stella sold in the U.S between January 7th-March 31st, the beer maker will make a donation to Water.org. The ad, one of eight from Anheuser-Busch, premiered on the Today Show January 28th and will go wide at the Super Bowl.

The King is back. A teaser featuring Burger King’s slightly unsettling King tidying up the set for his first Super Bowl commercial since 2006 doesn’t offer much in the way of what to expect from the fast food chain. But rumor has it The Whopper makes an appearance. No word on the whereabouts of The Whopperettes.

Sports Heroes Celebrate Women And 100 Years Of The NFL

What might happen if the NFL’s biggest stars – in the middle of a formal banquet celebrating the 100th season of the NFL – decided to… have a quick pick-up game? What could possibly go wrong? At the very least some broken dishes and a badly defeated cake. This fun commercial for the NFL cheerfully plays out the scenario. Featuring football stars from every decade going back 50 years, this spot will undoubtedly delight football fans who will enjoy picking out familiar faces like Mean Joe Green and Joe Montana. The players were encouraged to be themselves in dress and personality, so expect big energy and likely a lot of post-commercial chatter the day after the game.

Serena Williams is no stranger to power — on the tennis court, in business and, since having her daughter, as a champion of working mothers. Williams’ new role as Global Advisor to Bumble’s “The Ball Is in Her Court” campaign has her advocating for the role women can play in shaping their own stories when they take the lead in business and relationships. Bumble is, of course, famous for being a dating app where women make the first move, a digital Sadie Hawkins in an era of bad Tinder dates. The teaser features the 23-time Grand Slam champ sharing why she was moved to work with Bumble, and it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the all-female crew who created the spot airing during Super Bowl LIII — Bumble’s first ever at the big game.

Celebrities, Boy Bands And Lil John Step In For Pepsi

Pepsi hit the Atlanta market hard with out-of-home (OOH) advertising for their flagship soda, the official soft drink of the NFL. Plus, PepsiCo’s wide range of products combine to have five commercials during the big game. Among the funnier teasers is crooner Michael Bublé dolefully (and defiantly) changing the y on each can of the new Pepsi product Bubly, to his signature é. This is the first Super Bowl spot for Bubly and Bublé, and by the looks of the clip, it’s a good fit for the singer’s widely-enjoyed dry sense of humor.

Bublé isn’t the only singer shilling for PepsiCo. The Backstreet Boys (BSB) and Chance the Rapper enjoy an “I Want it That Way” mash-up on behalf of the Dorito’s Flaming Hot Nacho. BSB fans should enjoy the throwback vibe, and fans of Chance will be tickled by his earnest attempts at the boy band life. Steve Carrell, Lil Jon and Cardi B are also in the mix for Pepsi, with Lil John’s signature “oh yeahhhhhh,” featured prominently once again since his duet with Kool-Aid Man at Christmas.

Skittles And Turkish Airlines Innovate To Make Their Marks This Year

Instead of the usual 30-second spot, Skittles enjoys toying with their audience a little bit, and this year is no different. The Mars-owned candy is creating a 30-minute meta-musical starring Michael C. Hall. Called Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical, it will be performed at New York’s Town Hall on the afternoon of the game. The songs within the musical, which are already available on Spotify, are quite good actually and funny. And the teaser has the cast practically drowning in Skittles. The irreverence is effective and charming, and the advance publicity and social media buzz, particularly from the live musical, should generate significant brand awareness for the rainbow candies.

Turkish Airlines teamed with director Ridley Scott to create a six-minute action adventure short. The cat-and-mouse chase highlights the beauty of Istanbul and promotes the city’s new airport, the hub for Turkish Airlines. The high-level production and intense style may be reminiscent of the famous BMW commercials from the early oughts, directed by Ridley’s brother Tony. A 30-second version of the Turkish Airlines short will air as a commercial during the Super Bowl, making this their third time advertising on game day.

Newcomers To The Commercial Game Hope To Get Noticed With Celebrity Spots

Combine Sarah Michelle Gellar, a Gen X scream queen for the ages, with a product Gen Xers might possibly need more of these days, and you have celebrity endorsement gold. The commercials from Olay, aptly called “Killer Skin,” feature a well-moisturized Gellar running from a very crusty-looking masked man who keeps popping up in her house. It’s so Buffy to fight bad guys and dry skin all in one commercial.

Filing expenses after a business trip isn’t the sexiest thing a person can do, so it’s easy to imagine making a commercial about it could read a little dull. Solution: Rappers. Expense management software company Expensify will air their first commercial ever during Super Bowl LIII, and it features rapper 2 Chainz. Expensify uploaded a video to launch the campaign, which includes receipts on all the very fancy items throughout. Eagle-eyed viewers can enter those receipts into the Expensify app for a chance to win prizes — and of course, a chance to get comfortable with the app. The spot that will air during Super Bowl LIII will also include 2 Chainz and possibly a gold toilet.

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About the Author

Sarah Cavill is a Marketing Communications Writer at Digital Media Solutions (DMS), the fastest-growing independent digital performance marketing company. DMS helps its clients accelerate growth by deploying diversified and data-driven customer acquisition solutions that deliver scalable, sustainable and measurable marketing results. DMS performance marketing solutions connect the right consumers with the right offers at the right time to achieve the marketing objectives of our clients. DMS is continually innovating to provide new and emerging media and technology solutions that minimize waste and maximize results across the most competitive industries. Since its inception, DMS has demonstrated incredible year-over-year growth which has earned recognition on the Inc. 5000 list in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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