No./10 Inside the ads that look just like movies
We investigate the pumpedup Super Bowl commercials with A-list clout
CHUCK MEEHAN AND Brad Emmett are aware they got off lightly. After all, people who spend time in the vicinity of Dr. Evil himself typically find themselves eaten by sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads. Instead, the architects of a recent Super Bowl advert reviving the character lived to see another day. “It was surreal,” says Meehan, recalling the moment Mike Myers emerged on-set in full costume, Dr. Evil having not been seen on screen since 2002 (give or take a late-night US TV sketch or two). “My friends and I have been quoting Austin Powers for over 20 years, so to suddenly have his archnemesis right there in front of us was kinda crazy.”
The ad — in which the notorious villain vows to fight climate change, after learning that it’s replaced him as the number-one threat to the planet — was created as a way of promoting General Motors’ new line of electric vehicles. For Emmett, who pitched and developed the ad with Meehan, the idea worked because it felt true to the character. “We weren’t just tapping into an iconic character for the sake of it,” he explains. “It really does lean into Dr. Evil’s persona, instead of just selling a product. We approached it like a trailer for a movie, as if it were a set-up for ‘Austin Powers 4’.”
Myers was not the only A-lister to resurrect a fan-favourite character during this year’s American football extravaganza; Jim Carrey’s The Cable Guy also returned in a commercial for Verizon, in which the manic tech guru marvels at the power of 5G internet (“So, somehow your home is magically connected to the information superhighway without miles and miles of this?” he asks, brandishing a bundle of wires). It’s a trend that’s been emerging for a few years now. In 2021, Wayne and Garth of Wayne’s World reunited courtesy of Uber Eats (Mike Myers again). The year before, Bruce Willis embarked upon another explosive encounter as John Mcclane in promotion of a car-battery brand. Even Bill Murray has been in on the action, bringing back his character from Groundhog Day in a Jeep ad.
So, why is it all happening? “It’s not just money,” says an advertising-industry insider who worked on one such advert. “For actors, it’s a potential proving ground that there’s still an appetite for that character, in the hope that a reboot or sequel might get made.” They point to
beer brand Stella Artois’ 2019 advert that resurrected Sex And The City’s Carrie Bradshaw alongside The Big Lebowski’s The Dude. The spot’s success, they believe, partly led to the existence of And Just Like That..., the Sex And The City sequel series that streamed in late 2021.
“The Super Bowl is seen by [almost] a hundred million people at once,” adds Emmett. “There’s something sexy about A-list actors wanting to be part of that. Back in the day, there was a sense with actors of, “‘Oh, commercials,’” he fake-groans. “But that’s gone away a little now.” He’s not wrong. Super Bowl is no longer just a showcase of trailers for the year’s biggest upcoming blockbusters. In another advert this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek starred as retired Greek gods in a spot for BMW, masquerading as a movie called ‘Zeus’ (a fake poster was even put out in advance), while last year, Timothée Chalamet dressed as Edward Scissorhands in a Cadillac ad. It used to be that stars were reluctant to do such corporate endorsements, filming them for Japanese audiences but declining American spots out of fear it might dampen their credibility. In 2022, that’s no longer the case.
“When actors sign on for roles in big franchise movies, they know their image rights will be used to sell a number of different products. It’s just embedded in the culture more now,” the advertising-industry source suggests, adding that these types of ads are a “win-win” for all involved. “For brands, since Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s been obvious there’s a nostalgic power in audiences seeing their old favourites again. For actors, there’s visibility and almost status now in getting to do one of these ads.”
There’s an argument to be made that trotting out old characters for adverts threatens the magic and mystique of beloved movies. Would The Godfather still be as beloved if Marlon Brando had starred as Vito Corleone in a commercial for Dolmio pasta sauce? Would Titanic lose some of its romantic shine if Leonardo Dicaprio were to resurrect Jack for an advert about life insurance? The huge response to Carrey’s Cable Guy and Myers’ Dr. Evil appearances at this year’s Super Bowl (both characters were trending on Twitter during the event) suggests audiences aren’t too concerned. In short, expect more at the Super Bowl in 2023 — like Dr. Evil’s henchman Mustafa, it’s a trend that looks tough to kill.