While most people will tune in to see if the Los Angeles Rams can unseat the New England Patriots, there always are the non-football fans who watch the Super Bowl to see the halftime show and the imaginative commercials. Interestingly, the big game this year is in Atlanta, home of Coca-Cola Co. – which has perhaps the most underwhelming ad of the game.
The midpoint this Sunday (Feb. 3) is again "the Pepsi Halftime Show," and this year it stars Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi. Rapper Travis Scott also will headline Pepsi's Super Bowl weekend party at Planet Pepsi in Atlanta on Feb. 1.
PepsiCo is always one of the biggest Super Bowl advertisers. This year, its efforts will include:
- Steve Carell, Lil Jon and Cardi B emphasizing Pepsi is “More Than OK.”
- Singer Michael Bublé having fun with his own last name to promote Bubly, PepsiCo's sparkling water brand.
- Chance the Rapper and the Backstreet Boys rapping Doritos.
Anheuser-Busch InBev also is traditionally a big Super Bowl advertiser, and the global beer company stages five efforts this year. Only one is for Budweiser, and it stars its traditional dalmation and clydesdale combo – but promoting Bud's commitment to wind power. The other AB InBev spots:
- One of the more anticipated ads has Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) from "Sex and the City" meeting The Dude from "Big Lebowski" (Jeff Bridges) in an ad for Stella Artois.
- Two mermaids make a splash for AB InBev's new Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer.
- Michelob Ultra gets two spots: A robot can work out but can't enjoy regular Michelob Ultra. Later, actress Zoe Kravitz will tout Michelob Ultra Pure Gold, "the first major USDA certified organic beer."
Other F&B brands vying for your mid-game attention:
- As separate companies, neither Kraft nor Heinz was that big on the game. But the united company paid for two spots: Planter's Mr. Peanut in "Catch of the Day" and its Devour frozen-food brand looking at one man’s “frozen food porn addiction.” Hmmm.
- Mars also sprang for two. For Skittles, Michael C. Hall (remember "Dexter"?) kills as the straight man as a Rent-like ensemble sings how "Advertising ruins everything." And Christina Applegate gets locked out of her car in ad for M&Ms.
- Coca-Cola takes a traditionally lower-key approach with an all-animation spot saying "A Coke Is a Coke."
- An Alexa-like device attempts to figure out how many Pringles flavor combinations can be stacked.
- Yellow Tail wine shares the results from its social media contest that asked consumers to share videos of what makes them happy.
And of course, there's Avocados from Mexico.
What you won't see is an adv for cannabis, which was rejected by CBS. Read about that here.
