Dos Equis Reportedly Retiring "Most Interesting Man In The World" Campaign At Super Bowl

Dos Equis' 10-year-old ad campaign featuring "The Most Interesting Man In The World" has "filmed its final installment" and is set to air during the Super Bowl on Sunday, according to a source cited by David Robb of DEADLINE.com. The source said that the spot will show The Most Interesting Man in the World, played by Jonathan Goldsmith, being "rocketed to Mars," where "he’ll be left stranded." The brand has "not even acknowledged that it has bought time during the game, much less that it is ending the run of its iconic pitchman." However, if Dos Equis does run such an ad, it is "certain to generate huge buzz among this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads." No one involved in the ad campaign would talk on the record, but a source at Radical Media, which shoots the ads, said, “I don’t know how much longer that campaign is going to go on.” Attempts to confirm with Havas Worldwide, the ad agency behind the campaign, were unsuccessful (DEADLINE.com, 2/2).

SMART CAR: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Steven Perlberg notes Kia for its seventh Super Bowl appearance is "hoping to add some extra star power by employing" IBM’s Watson, which will "help identify 'social media influencers' who can buoy Kia’s message before and during the 60-second spot." Kia for its ad campaign "sent colorful socks to about 100 influencers who will make content and use Kia’s hashtag, #AddPizzazz." The "main conceit of the Super Bowl ad, dubbed 'Walken Closet,' is that Kia’s vehicle is the fun, multicolored sock in a world of otherwise bland, beige socks." The campaign "comes at a time when influencer marketing has become more in vogue." The practice also has "sparked the interest" of FTC, which has "stepped up efforts to ensure it's clear when social media posts are paid for by brands" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/3).

PLACING FACES: ADWEEK's Tim Nudd noted Wieden + Kennedy's Super Bowl campaign for TurboTax "pokes fun at celebrity endorsements, teasers and teasers for teasers." A 60-second spot that debuted yesterday features Bravo's James Lipton "arriving for a meeting about a commercial for which, he believes, he has secured the leading role." The personality "who will actually star in TurboTax's commercial on Sunday remains a secret," and viewers can "expect more shenanigans along the way." TurboTax "will run a 30-second spot on Sunday in its third straight Super Bowl appearance" (ADWEEK.com, 2/2). AD AGE's Maureen Morrison noted rapper Drake's "Hotline Bling" is the "center of the T-Mobile Super Bowl ad featuring the hip-hop artist," which the company unveiled yesterday. T-Mobile also has another ad in the Super Bowl, but "apparently that one will not be revealed until the broadcast itself on CBS" (ADAGE.com, 2/2). Skittles yesterday released its Super Bowl spot, which features Aerosmith's Steven Tyler "coming face-to-face with his own larger-than-life portrait, done in Skittles." The spot, via DDB, Chicago, was "nearly nine months in the making" and "continues an offbeat advertising approach for Skittles." However, this ad is the "first time the brand has used a celebrity in one of its 'Taste the Rainbow' commercials" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 2/2). Actor Liam Neeson stars in LG's spot, titled "Man From The Future," where he is "warning his younger self (played by his real-life son Micheal) about protecting, of course, the future." The ad "feels like a sci-fi movie trailer" (OREGONLIVE.com, 2/2). SunTrust's 30-second spot features a "voice-over from actor Gary Sinise" (ADAGE.com, 2/2).

PLAYING CHICKEN: In Louisville, Jere Downs reported KFC's Col. Sanders "appears ready to reincarnate for a third time before the Super Bowl kickoff this year." Actors Norm MacDonald and Darrell Hammond have played Sanders in ads over the past year. Edelman Senior Account Supervisor Megan Milam, who reps KFC, said that a new ad "shows a series of absurd Sanders' vignettes 'teasing that Norm could be on his way out, with a new Colonel to potentially be revealed in the pre-game Super Bowl coverage on his way in'" (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 2/2). KFC is owned by Yum Brands, which already has an in-game spot planned for its Taco Bell brand (THE DAILY).

WHERE'S THE HAHA? In Tampa, Justine Griffin wondered, "Are the days of stand-out ad campaigns behind us?" This is the "second year in a row where there doesn't seem to be a viral contender in the crop of expensive Super Bowl commercials"(TAMPABAY.com, 2/2). The AP's Mae Anderson wrote under the header, "Super Bowl Ads This Year Might Be A Snooze." Ad buyers seem to be "playing it extra safe." Actress Helen Mirren in a Budweiser spot will "deliver a lecture about drunken driving and why it's a terrible idea," while "many others are going with anthemic or public service-style messages." Anderson: "Slapstick, crass humor and sex seem to be relegated to the sidelines." Ad agency NSG/SWAT CEO Richard Kirshenbaum: "People want to be entertained. They don't want somber messages or to be reminded of their problems." Anderson noted this year's Super Bowl features the "requisite talking animals and celebrities galore," as advertisers "can't afford another crop of ads like last year." Those ads "struck viewers as depressing, most notably a dark PSA from insurer Nationwide." Ad effectiveness measurement firm AceMetrix CEO Peter Daboll said, "The Nationwide ad sucked the oxygen out of the room at every Super Bowl Party in America" (AP, 2/2).