Amazon's Super Bowl plans this year will "follow in the footsteps" of its '18 spot and rely on "celebrity muscle to tout a presumably faux Amazon Beta Testing Program," according to Lisa Lacy of ADWEEK. In teasers for the spot, celebrities like Harrison Ford, Forest Whitaker and Ilana Glazer "open padded briefcases and hear an automated voice welcome them to this program." An Amazon spokesperson "confirmed the teasers are for a national ad" during the Super Bowl, but declined to share any other specifics. Amazon's "star-studded Super Bowl ad last year," which included Cardi B, Gordon Ramsay and Rebel Wilson, was "one of the overall favorites" (ADWEEK.com, 1/26). AD AGE's Jeanine Poggi noted this would be Amazon's "fourth consecutive Super Bowl" promoting Alexa, after the company "made its Super Bowl debut" with an ad starring Alec Baldwin in '16 (ADAGE.com, 1/25).
DYNAMIC DUO: ADWEEK’s Diana Pearl notes Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw character from “Sex and the City” and Jeff Bridges’ The Dude from “The Big Lebowski” come together for Stella Artois’ Super Bowl spot. The ad, which airs in the second quarter, first shows Parker’s Sex and the City character “entering a restaurant.” Upon entering, Parker’s character is “offered her signature drink: a cosmopolitan,” but turns it down and asks for a Stella. As Bridges' character enters, the bartender “assumes he wants a white Russian, his go-to beverage.” But he also “changes his mind and asks for a Stella.” Parker and Bridges were “easy choices not only because of how iconic their characters are, but also because both are associated with a signature drink” (ADWEEK.com, 1/28).
WELL-OILED MACHINES: AD AGE's E.J. Schultz noted one of Michelob Ultra's two Super Bowl spots, which was released Friday, "draws a parallel between robots and people who work out so hard they resemble machines." The 30-second spot by FCB, Chicago, shows a "sad-looking robot longingly peering at a bar from outside in the rain," in a "new take on the 'Live Fit, Live Fun' tagline" introduced last year" (ADAGE.com, 1/25).
BUYING LOCAL: In San Antonio, Iszler & Fechter noted a number of Texas-based companies will have local ads run "during the commercial breaks" of this year's Super Bowl. San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B will "turn up in the second half" with a spot featuring a man "stranded on a desert island, 'Castaway'-style." The 60-second ad will air between the third and fourth quarters, a block "typically set aside for regional companies." H-E-B's TV spots "typically strike a quirky and humorous tone." In '18, the company ran a Super Bowl ad that had 15 million views on social media platforms (MYSANANTONIO.com, 1/27).
SHOWING OF STRENGTH: Coca-Cola, which will not air a Super Bowl commercial for the first time since '06, will instead air a 60-second spot before the game, and Variety's Brian Steinberg said the brand is "really hoping to use that as a big moment." Steinberg: "The game hasn't started yet, no one's winning or losing." ABC's Zachary Kiesch said mixing style and substance "might be a trend this year" ("GMA," ABC, 1/26). Adweek's Diana Pearl said there is going to be a "real return to humor" with Super Bowl ads this year. Pearl added despite "chatter that there might not be as many celebrities" this year, there "definitely is a lot of star power here" ("GMA," ABC, 1/28).
