Super Bowl ads use celebs, humor, lots of dogs
NEW YORK (AP) — Advertisers bet big that viewers were turning to the Super Bowl for a comforting escape, and delivered a series of advertisements that relied on familiar celebrity faces, light humor, and plenty of cuddly dogs.
This wasn't a year for edgy humor or experimentation. After the global pandemic, with economic uncertainty looming ahead and the war in Ukraine stretching on, advertisers just wanted people to feel good. And it worked. "This year's ads took a very light touch and focused on being fun and making the viewer feel good," said Charles Taylor, marketing professor at Villanova University. "Most followed a clear formula of combining A-list celebrities with humor, with some using nostalgia and/or music to good effect."
Super Bowl advertisers each year try to reach the more than 100 million people tuning into the broadcast. It's a pricey proposition: ads can cost as much as $7 million for 30 seconds.
It was a year of change for the Super Bowl since other alcohol ads were allowed to air after Anheuser-Bush gave up its exclusivity deal and the halftime show sponsor changed from Pepsi to Apple music after a decade. STARRY NIGHT Many of the ads were released early, but there were still some surprises in store for viewers. In its first Super Bowl ad, Dunkin' Donuts enlisted superfan Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Lopez.
In the ad, Affleck mans the drive-through booth at a Dunkin' Donuts in Medford, Massachusetts, with a Boston accent and shocks customers. Lopez comes through the line of cars and asks him what he's doing. "You're embarrassing me in front of my friends," he says. "Grab me a glazed," she demands. Affleck has a long association with the brand, and is often spotted carrying Dunkin' Donuts drinks in paparazzi photos. He directed the ad, too.
GM and Netflix enlisted Will Ferrell to tout their deal to show more electric vehicles in Netflix shows. Bud Light's ad showed Miles
Rihanna was above it all.
She began and ended the Super Bowl 57 halftime show hovering high above the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The performance delivered on fan expectations but it included a major surprise — the singer is pregnant with her second child.
She wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit with tight, rubbery garb underneath as she stood on a transparent rectangular platform that raised and lowered as she belted out the lyrics to "Bitch Better Have My Money" over the turf where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were battling moments earlier.
Dancers wearing white ski-style suits and shaded goggles had their own suspended platforms that moved in concert with hers.
She and the dancers were lowered to a long stage that matched her outfit as she sped through hits including "Work," "Where Have You Been," and "Only Girl," belting out "Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the
Teller and his wife Keleigh and dog Bugsy, who all dance to hold music. Melissa McCarthy sings a jingle for Booking.com, and Adam Driver makes multiples of himself for Squarespace. Pepsi Zero Sugar hired Ben Stiller and Steve Martin. Avocados From Mexico enlists Anna Faris for one of the few slightly risque ads this year that envisions a present where everyone is naked — including the Statue of Liberty. Tennis star Serena Williams stars in two ads: one for Michelob Ultra and one for Remy Martin. T-Mobile enlisted Bradley Cooper world."
There were none of the instant costume changes, scene shifts or surprise guest appearances that have been a constant at other Super Bowl halftimes. (Her set included songs that were studio collaborations with Drake and Ye, but neither suddenly showed up.)
Rihanna's performance was her first live event in years, and her first since becoming a mother nine months ago. A SIMPLY SPANGLED BANNER Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl 57, standing alone on the field accompanied by only his electric guitar as he sang "The Star Spangled Banner" moments before the Kansas City Chiefs kickoff to the Philadelphia Eagles to start the game.
Dressed simply in smooth black denim and sunglasses, with neatly combed hair instead of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, picking it up to rock only briefly as he delivered the final lines "banner yet wave" and "land of the free!"
His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2
and his mom to star in a blooper-filled ad.
One unusual star: a group of donors bought two ads to feature Jesus in a campaign called "He Gets Us."
And U2 ran an ad announcing its Las Vegas residency that showed unidentified orbs floating over cities. One of the orbs has a baby in it who says "Achtung!". U2's shows are opening up a venue called MSG Sphere, so the orbs make sense. But coming the same day the U.S. announced it shot down a fourth unidentified flying object, the images of orbs floating over cities struck a jarring tone. minutes, 2 seconds, under the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by oddsmakers. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than last year's sung by another country star, Mickey Guyton.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and starting center Jason Kelce both had tears in their eyes during Stapleton's emotional performance.
As the eight-time Grammy winner sang, "CODA" star Troy Kotsur, the first deaf man to win an acting Oscar, signed the anthem lyrics.
OTHER ANTHEMS
Before Stapleton's anthem, "Abbot Elementary" star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Wearing a flowing red velvet gown, Ralph began the song dubbed the Black national anthem as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with militarystyle drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
And R&B legend Babyface delivered "America the Beautiful" as a soulful folk song, playing an acoustic guitar painted with an American flag and blue flowers as he stood alone on the field. A backing track with drum machines and singers kicked in before he was done.
FAMOUS FANS, PERFORMERS AND PITCH PEOPLE Die-hard Chiefs fan Paul Rudd was on the field before the game, sporting a big smile and a team jersey.
Philadelphia native Bradley Cooper, wearing an Eagles T-shirt, celebrated from the stands as his team put the game's first points on the board. Another famous Philly fan, Kevin Hart, wearing a jersey, stood and flapped his arms.
Jay-Z, Tiffany Haddish, rapper GloRilla and chef Gordon Ramsay were also spotted in the stadium.
Pregame performances came from DJ Snake and Jason Derulo, whose backup dancers included synchronized robot dogs.
Many stars have made the scene at Super Bowl week parties.
And many others, including Serena Williams, Adam Driver and John Travolta, are showing up in the big game's big commercials.