Amazon is "becoming a fixture of Super Bowl advertising, a sign that the tech titans that championed the rise of online advertising and streaming video find TV's mass-marketing appeal hard to resist," according to Suzanne Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Amazon will air two spots in its "fourth straight" Super Bowl. A 90-second spot released yesterday features Harrison Ford, Forest Whitaker and astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly "testing new products ... equipped with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant." Amazon will also air a 60-second spot for its new streaming series "Hanna." The Super Bowl appearance is "part of a larger TV advertising blitz by Amazon." The company's national TV ad spending in the U.S. "soared almost 60%" in '18 to $679.1M, and has "nearly doubled" since '15. Amazon for years "relied largely on digital ads in its marketing," but is now "discovering what many online players eventually figure out: that TV's appeal is tough to beat when it comes to brand building." Google will also "advertise during the Super Bowl," after it last year "promoted its smart speaker Google Home." Meanwhile, Facebook said that it "won't be airing a spot" after it "spent heavily during the holidays" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/31). VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted Super Bowl LII last year "developed into a streaming-video showdown," as Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and HBO all bought spots previewing upcoming programming. Amazon's interest in the Super Bowl "comes as new competitors are entering the streaming field" (VARIETY.com, 1/30).
STARS ALIGN: The AP's Mae Anderson noted star power "abounds" in the ads for Sunday's game, which will be a "battle between advertisers over who gets the buzz -- and who gets forgotten." Celebrities are a "relatively safe bet to garner goodwill from Super Bowl viewers who aren't looking to be lectured at." Advertisers this year are "doing what they can to stand out ... while shying away from controversy." Fans should not "expect any mention of the government shutdown or the debate over building a wall" in Sunday's spots (AP, 1/30).
LOCAL SPOTS: In Raleigh, Noah Feit noted Natural Light will "broadcast a Super Bowl ad in 'five cities with some of the highest student loan debt in America,'" including Raleigh and Columbia, S.C. The other cities: Jackson, Miss.; Little Rock and Richmond. The spot "features winners of Natty Light's College Debt Relief Program contest" in '18 (NEWSOBSERVER.com, 1/30). In Atlanta, Raisa Habersham noted Atlanta-based Get Your Goat rentals will be "featured in a 30-second spot" during the Super Bowl. The company's ad will be "one of three paid for by Head & Shoulders shampoo, which is highlighting unique local companies as part of their 'headstrong' initiative." The two other businesses "chosen to receive a Super Bowl ad" are K.C.-based KC Weddings 2 Go and Houston-based Smash Therapy, which "provides customers a safe place to vent and smash things." The spots will run in their respective local markets (AJC.com, 1/30).
