Two new teaser ads for Audi's Super Bowl commercial note the star of the effort will be the "demonic Doberman-Chihuahua hybrid, the 'Doberhuahua,'" according to Richard Feloni of BUSINESS INSIDER. The first teaser states "something scary is coming" on Feb. 2. The second one stars singer Sarah McLachlan making light of her "heartrending anti-animal cruelty commercials," as she "implores viewers to respect the Doberhuahua." The 60-second ad, which comes via Venables Bell & Partners, S.F., will air "during the first in-game break of the third quarter" and will promote the A3, an "entry-level sedan" (
BUSINESSINSIDER.com, 1/23). Meanwhile, in DC, Cindy Boren wrote Volkswagen "may have come up with the perfect Super Bowl ad." The teaser for the ad shows German engineers "devising an algorithm for the perfect Super Bowl commercial." It includes "babies, puppies, celebrities, an astronaut, a dinosaur, Carmen Electra, Abe Lincoln, monkeys and a hit to the groin" (
WASHINGTONPOST.com, 1/23). In Detroit, Brent Snavely notes Audi and VW are among "at least nine automotive brands aiming to capture the attention of millions of viewers" during the game. Most automakers "have already started to flood YouTube, Twitter and other social media outlets with teaser ads that are part of broader campaigns to draw attention to their brands" (
DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/24).
STAR SEARCH: USA TODAY's Bruce Horovitz reports some Super Bowl advertisers "believe it's no longer possible to stand out with just one celebrity," so several now are "widening the field to two, three, four -- or more." Dannon and Jaguar "each have three celebrities in their ads," while Anheuser-Busch has four, including actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. U2 will perform its new song, "Invisible," in a "fundraising ad sponsored by Bank of America for (RED) to fight AIDS," while Toyota features actor Terry Crews "teamed with a car full of Muppets." Hyundai on Friday is "expected to name two celebrities who will star in one of its Super Bowl ads." Marketing firm DLB Founder & CEO Darcy Bouzeos said, "Using multiple celebrities helps a brand appeal to a more diverse audience." Bouzeos added that the strategy "helps create a 'wow' factor." Bouzeos: "The audience may be impressed by the sheer star power connected to the brand." Horovitz notes the "exception is that if a celebrity is very big, the star doesn't typically share screen time" (USA TODAY, 1/24).
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CELEBRITIES IN SUPER BOWL ADS
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| ADVERTISER |
CELEBRITIES |
| Anheuser-Busch |
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don Cheadle, Reggie Watts |
| Audi |
Sarah McLachlan |
| Bank of America |
Bono, U2 |
| Dannon (Oikos) |
John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier of "Full House" |
| GoDaddy |
Danica Patrick |
| H&M |
David Beckham |
| Jaguar |
Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Strong |
| Kia |
Laurence Fishburne ("The Matrix" character) |
| SodaStream |
Scarlett Johansson |
| Toyota |
Terry Crews, The Muppets |
| Wonderful Pistachios |
Stephen Colbert |
| |
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AD BONANZA: In N.Y., Stuart Elliott writes in a 50-day period from Jan. 12 through March 2, there is "a veritable orgy of advertising." In addition to the Super Bowl and two NFL conference championship games, marketers are spending an estimated $1.5B to buy commercial time on the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the Sochi Games and the Academy Awards. Several major brands are "sponsoring more than one of those shows." Chevrolet "plans to run commercials during the Grammys, to be followed by two spots in the first quarter of the Super Bowl and multiple spots during the Winter Games and the Oscars." Marketers "covet big events like sports and award shows" as they "believe that viewers pay attention to the commercials because they have been conditioned to expect new, special ads worth watching during big-event television like the Super Bowl" (
N.Y. TIMES, 1/24).
