Rental listings site Apartments.com is "making its Super Bowl debut this year with an advertisement that celebrates renting an apartment as an attractive alternative to owning a home," according to Nathalie Tadena of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. In the spot, titled "MovinOnUp," actor Jeff Goldblum "will reprise his character," eccentric Silicon Valley exec Brad Bellflower, and "show off some of his musical skills." RPA, Santa Monica, is "creating the 60-second Super Bowl spot, which will air in the second commercial break of the game." CoStar Group Founder, Dir, President & CEO Andrew Florance, whose firm owns Apartments.com, noted that the site also "will be the apartment industry's first-ever advertiser in the Super Bowl" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/27). Meanwhile, in Detroit, Michael Wayland reported Buick has tapped Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. and actress/model Emily Ratajkowski to "star in the brand's first Super Bowl commercial." The 30-second spot "features Buick's all-new Cascadia luxury convertible that recently started arriving in dealerships" (DETROITNEWS.com, 1/26).
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: ADWEEK's Patrick Coffee reported outdoor apparel and gear retailer Marmot will "star a 'marshmallow-eating, fetchingly clad' marmot eager to spread the word about the great outdoors" in the company's first Super Bowl spot instead of featuring "celebrity cameos, movie tie-ins or sweat-drenched athletes." The first of three teasers for the ad "sets the tone as the aforementioned mammal shows his slow-witted human friend how to make snow angels ... in the dirt." The message in the spots, which come from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, S.F., "is clear: he's just like us ... in every possibly embarrassing way" (ADWEEK.com, 1/26). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Steven Perlberg reported Marmot's spot has been "a year in the making." Marmot President Mark Martin said that the brand's "revamped ad strategy began a few years ago with a focus on outdoorsy networks like the Discovery Channel." The company "has since advertised on ESPN," and late last year become title sponsor of the ESPN-owned Boca Raton Bowl. In addition to the teasers, Marmot will "spend on digital ads like homepage takeovers of CBSSports.com" leading up to the Super Bowl (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/26). Marmot VP/Marketing Tom Fritz in an email wrote that Marmot "decided to advertise in the Super Bowl in an effort to reach new shoppers and reintroduce the brand to existing customers" (ADAGE.com, 1/26).
SLOW YOUR ROLL: VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted advertisers for this year's Super Bowl are "playing a waiting game." Among all Super Bowl advertisers, "only Pokemon has unveiled its full commercial and only did so on Monday." Syracuse advertising professor Brian Sheehan said, "Reveals are a double-edged sword. They create buzz and shareability ahead of the game, but but they can make the ad running on the actual game itself very anticlimactic. In other words, companies may get more buzz in total from dropping a bomb in the big game than by showing it earlier." Steinberg noted a "sense emerged in recent years that viewers had seen many of the ads -- not to mention their surprise guest stars and oddball punchlines -- well before the giant happening they once helped boost." That "takes some of the air out of the phenomenon" (VARIETY.com, 1/26).
