Microsoft "will return to the Super Bowl following its first tear-jerker spot that aired during last year's game," according to Jeanine Poggi of AD AGE. The company said that "it will run one 60-second spot" during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX. Microsoft aired its first Super Bowl commercial last season with a spot featuring former NFLer Steve Gleason, "battling Lou Gehrig's disease and using a Surface Pro Tablet with eye-tracking technology to speak." The company "has not released any details about this year's commercial." Microsoft's Xbox and Surface "are NFL sponsors and Bing is a partner" of the Seahawks (
ADAGE.com, 12/23). Meanwhile, Nationwide on Thursday unveiled a teaser version of its Super Bowl spot, titled "Invisible," on the company’s YouTube channel. The 45-second spot, featuring actress Mindy Kaling, will debut during the second quarter. Kaling helped develop the ad with Nationwide and Durham-based ad agency McKinney. It is Nationwide’s first Super Bowl ad since '07 (
Nationwide). ADWEEK's Noreen O'Leary noted the Nationwide spot does not feature "recent frontman Peyton Manning." In the teaser, Kaling "decides that after years of being treated as if she was invisible -- think taxis bypassing her on city streets -- she might actually be invisible and has some fun with the idea." She "eats food from a stranger's plate at an outdoor café, sunbathes nude in a park, helps herself to a bucket of ice cream as she strolls through a supermarket aisle and walks through an automated carwash." Roy Orbison's song "Oh, Pretty Woman" plays during the ad. Nationwide Exec VP & CMO Matt Jauchius said, "The insight here is consumers feel dissatisfied and considered invisible by companies out there. ... With 'Invisible,' we're saying we understand you, America -- you feel treated by brands as being invisible. That's the rational message, and for the emotional one we're using humor because it's the Super Bowl." Kaling "could help broaden the brand's appeal" with her "strong millennial following." Her 3.6 million Twitter followers "are a bonus too" (
ADWEEK.com, 1/22).
FATHER TIME: AD AGE's Poggi noted Nissan is "partnering with YouTube creators for its first Super Bowl campaign in over two decades." The automaker's "#withdad campaign is celebrating dads with a batch of videos from the likes of Epic Meal Time, Dude Perfect, Jabbawockeez, Convos with my 2-year Old, Roman Atwood and Action Movie Kid." The content creators "were tasked with creating short online films that celebrate the innovative and exciting ways that dads make life better for their families and how they strive to find a work-life balance." A Nissan spokesperson said that they "were paid for their work." Nissan "will not release a teaser" of the ad prior to the Super Bowl. However, the company "wants to build suspense and provoke a social conversation ahead of the big game: It's hoping to tap into the already established fan-bases of these YouTube creators" (
ADAGE.com, 1/22).
PUMPING THE BRAKES? In Detroit, Michael Wayland writes there is one "big question unanswered: Will Chrysler reprise its impactful ads of recent years?" Chrysler remains "unconfirmed for this year's big game" and is "keeping plans secret." In '12 there was "Halftime in America," a "patriotic ad" featuring actor and director Clint Eastwood. In '13, "Farmer," using the "So God Made a Farmer" speech, was "delivered by iconic radio broadcaster Paul Harvey." There was also a Jeep ad "narrated by Oprah Winfrey." Last year, the automaker "aired three ads, including one with Bob Dylan" for the '15 Chrysler 200. Fiat Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois in November "confirmed the company had 'reserved' time during the game, but emphasized there was no guarantee it would use that time" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/23).
