NEW YORK — If you watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, you no longer have to wait until the big game to see what advertisers have in store for viewers.
Many companies now release ads ahead of the game in the hope of capitalizing on the buzz that builds as the game approaches. They hope to recoup some of the reported $7 million that’s the going rate for a 30-second spot by capturing pre-game attention.
It’s a big challenge to stand out among the 50-plus advertisers that will be vying for the eyes of the more than 100 million people expected to tune in this year to CBS (and Paramount+ and Nickelodeon) on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 11). Last year’s broadcast on Fox was watched by a record 115.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
So advertisers pull out all the stops. In the ads released ahead of the game so far, Budweiser focuses on its iconic Clydesdales, Michelob Ultra capitalizes on the iconic star power of soccer legend Lionel Messi, and Uber Eats goes for laughs with an ad where Jennifer Aniston forgets she starred in “Friends” with David Schwimmer. Many more commercials are expected to be released ahead of the game.
Of course, not all advertisers release their ads ahead of the game, so there will be surprises. Big advertisers like Amazon have stayed mum on ad plans so far. And while there have been no indications of such, it remains to be seen whether advertisers will capitalize on this year’s Taylor Swift buzz in some way.
Here are some of the buzziest ads that have been released so far:
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BOOKING.COM
Actress Tina Fey has so many choices on the online travel agency booking.com site she has to hire body doubles: an influencer type played by her 30 Rock co-star, Jane Krakowski, to stay at a fancy hotel, a bigfoot handled by another 30 Rock co-star, Jack McBrayer, to stay at a cabin, and even actress Glenn Close, who stays on a farm.
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BUD LIGHT
The Bud Light genie grants wishes — like giving someone ’80s metal hair and someone else a giant bicep — to Bud Light drinkers. NFL legend Peyton Manning, rapper Post Malone and more also appear on screen.
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BUDWEISER
Budweiser is bringing back familiar characters to its gameday slot. In the beer brand’s nostalgic ad, a snowstorm threatens to derail a delivery to a small-town bar. But a team of Clydesdales and a Labrador retriever team up to help Budweiser make the delivery.
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DORITOS DINAMITA
Two grandmotherly women (“Dina” and “Mita”) chase after “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Danny Ramirez, who took the last bag of Doritos Dinamita from a store shelf, leaving actress Jenna Ortega behind.
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DOVE
Dove’s ad begins seemingly whimsically showing young girls having mishaps playing sports to the tune of “It’s the Hard Knock Life.” But the ad cuts starkly to a girl looking self-consciously in the mirror. The message: low body-confidence leads to girls quitting sports, not the mishaps.
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Google’s heartstring-pulling ad follows a blind man as he uses “Guided Frame” — Google’s AI-powered accessibility feature for the Pixel camera that uses a combination of audio cues, high-contrast animations and tactile vibrations — to take pictures of the people and places in his life.
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HELLMANN’S
In an ad for Hellmann’s, Kate McKinnon makes an unusual discovery: her cat can talk. Well, sort of. Her furry friend can say one word, “may-ow” — which skyrockets her to celebrity status and causes a mayonnaise-buying frenzy. The “Mayo Cat” becomes so famous that she even dates (and soon dumps) Pete Davidson.
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MICHELOB ULTRA
Lionel Messi’s Super Bowl debut shows off his soccer mastery and apparent loyalty to Michelob Ultra. In the ad, the soccer star also gets an assist from NFL legend Dan Marino and nod from “Ted Lasso’s” Jason Sudeikis.