TurboTax "will make its second Super Bowl appearance" with a 60-second spot created by Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, that "will air during the game's first quarter" on Feb. 1, according to Ashley Rodriguez of AD AGE. TurboTax "made its first Super Bowl appearance last year with a 60-second commercial called 'Love Hurts,' which featured a voiceover" by actor John C. Reilly. TurboTax VP/Marketing Greg Johnson said that the company "is returning to the game because of the solid performance and return it had last year." The '15 Super Bowl ad "is part of a brand campaign that began during the Rose Bowl on ESPN last week" with actor William H. Macy for the voiceover. It "builds on last year's push, which argued that doing taxes doesn't have to be as complicated as the rest of life." Johnson said that the spot will "reach out to early filers who are anxious to get their money back." He added that, like last year, TurboTax "won't prerelease the ad" (ADAGE.com, 1/5). ADWEEK's Tim Nudd noted TurboTax' 60-second "Mardi Gras" ad during the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 used "one long, absurd, interconnected scene to show how TurboTax guides you step by step through all the tax-relevant milestones that happen during your year." The Super Bowl spot, however, "will not be the 'Mardi Gras' execution but something entirely new" (ADWEEK.com, 1/5).
THE POWER TO SURPRISE: USA TODAY's Bruce Horovitz reports Skittles is "in the game" and "will post a promotional video this week" starring former NFLer Kurt Warner. Kia will return to the Super Bowl for the sixth consecutive year, "this time featuring actor Pierce Brosnan in its ad promoting the new Sorento." Kia Exec VP/Sales & Marketing Michael Sprague said that the spot "takes place at a talent agency, with Brosnan's agent explaining his client's 'unexpected role' in the commercial." Meanwhile, Horovitz reports Pepsi yesterday confirmed that it will run a 30-second commercial that "leads into the halftime spectacle, as it did last year." Coca-Cola will "air a 60-second spot" during the game as well (
USA TODAY, 1/6). AD AGE's E.J. Schultz wrote the ninth year of Doritos' "Crash the Super Bowl" user-generated-ad contest is "confirming again that formula has its hold on all of us." The 10 finalists for this year's game, "selected from nearly 4,900 submissions representing 29 countries," were revealed yesterday and "feature an unsurprising mix of sight gags, babies and animals." Schultz: "If the ads are rather formulaic, however, there is proof that the slapstick approach works for the brand, which routinely does well on Super Bowl ad polls." Two of the ads "will air during the Feb. 1 game, including one selected by fan votes and another one that Doritos will pick" (
ADAGE.com, 1/5).
