Doja Cat, John Travolta, Ben Affleck star in Super Bowl ads
This photo provided by Uber shows Montell Jordan a scene from Uber One 2023 Super Bowl NFL football spot. (Uber via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — The big day for marketers has arrived: The Super Bowl is advertising’s biggest, glitziest stage.
Big name advertisers from Netflix to Google paid as much as $7 million for a 30-second spot during the game, seeking to capture the attention of the roughly 100 million viewers who tune in each year.
To get the most out of those millions, many advertisers released their ads days ahead of the big game to maximize publicity. Ram spoofed ads for erectile dysfunction in a commercial for its Ram 1500 REV electric pickup by showing drivers worried about “premature electrification.” In other ads, John Travolta and “Scrubs” stars Donald Faison and Zach Braff sing a T-Mobile themed version of “Summer Nights” from “Grease,” Adam Driver creates multiple versions of himself for Squarespace, and Alicia Silverstone reprises her “Clueless” character for the online shopping site Rakuten.
AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO
Anna Faris stars as Eve, who eats an avocado in the garden of Eden. Flash forward to the present day, when no one is ashamed of nudity and everyone is naked, including the Statue of Liberty.
BOOKING.COM
Actress Melissa McCarthy stars in a musical number for the travel site about her desire to go on a trip “somewhere, anywhere.”
BUD LIGHT
Actor Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and his wife Keleigh Sperry Teller dance to customer service hold music while drinking a Bud Light.
BUDWEISER
In a regional ad, a diverse group of people share a six-pack of Budweiser — a voiceover by Kevin Bacon showcases the “six degrees of Bud.” Although he’s not shown, the ad is a nod to the “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon” meme — the idea that anyone in the entertainment business can be linked to Kevin Bacon in six connections.
BUSCH LIGHT
A mountain man talks about surviving the outdoors in an ad that stars singer Sarah McLachlan spoofing her well-known and oft mocked animal-advocacy ad that uses her song “Angel.”
CROWN ROYAL
Musician Dave Grohl thanks Canada for a variety of things that come from Canada, including Crown Royal and even football.
DEXCOM
Singer Nick Jonas returns for the second year in an ad that highlight’s Dexcom’s glucose monitoring system.
DOORDASH
Celebrity chef Matty Matheson, Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon The Chef and Nickelodeon’s stop-motion-animated Tiny Chef help a DoorDash shopper find the best products.
DORITOS
Music stars Jack Harlow, Missy Elliott and Elton John team up in an ad for Doritos Sweet & Tangy BBQ that shows Harlow abandoning his rap career to focus on the triangle — a Doritos-shaped musical instrument.
DOWNY UNSTOPABLES
Super Bowl regular Procter & Gamble promotes its Downy Unstopables brand in an ad showing actor Danny McBride — who wants to go by “Downy McBride.”
DRAFTKINGS
The online betting site shows stars including skateboard mogul Tony Hawk and singer Ludacris discussing DraftKings free bet offer at a party at actor Kevin Hart’s house.
DUNKIN’ DONUTS
Ben Affleck works a drive-through window at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Medford, Massachusetts, shocking customers. His wife, Jennifer Lopez, surprises him in the car line.
E(asterisk)TRADE
The E(asterisk)Trade babies are back. This time they’re at a wedding to demonstrate E(asterisk)Trade makes you ready for anything, including marriage, kids and college.
FARMER’S DOG
The subscription dog food service goes for the heartstrings with an ad showing a woman going through life’s milestones with her dog.
GENERAL MOTORS AND NETFLIX
Actor and comedian Will Ferrell drives different GM electric vehicles through different Netflix shows, including “Bridgerton” and “Stranger Things,” to announce that Netflix will feature electric vehicles in its original shows.
Google promotes its Pixel photo editing tools “Magic Eraser” and “Photo Unblur” with a 90 second spot featuring Amy Schumer, Doja Cat and NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
HELLMANN’S
The mayo brand shows actors Jon Hamm and Brie Larson in a fridge with a jar of Hellmann’s mayo — to drive home the point that Hellmann’s would go well with a “ham and brie” sandwich.
JEEP
Jeep’s ad showcases a bevy of different animals from meercats to bears dancing to a tune coming from a Jeep 4xe.
KIA
Kia’s ad for its 2023 Telluride X-Pro SUV shows a dad making an epic trek to recover a child’s left behind “binky.”
M&Ms
A spoof M&Ms ad shows Maya Rudolph trying to sell her fake Ma&Yas treats, which are “candy coated clam bites. A red M&M character appears in the back with a sign saying “Help!” Mars made waves in January by announcing it would pause using its trademark M&M’s spokescandies due to backlash to their revamped, more inclusive looks.
MICHELOB ULTRA
Michelob Ultra’s two ads are set at Bushwood Country Club, the fictional country club in “Caddyshack,” and star a bevy of stars and athletes: tennis great Serena Williams, actor Brian Cox, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, soccer player Alex Morgan and boxer Canelo Alvarez.
MOLSON COORS
A Molson Coors ad showed a Miller Lite fan and Coors Light fan duking it out about which beverage the ad would be for. A switch at the end shows it’s really a Blue Moon ad.
PARAMOUNT+
Sylvester Stallone and his daughters Sophia, Scarlet and Sistine set up camp on Paramount Mountain.
PEACOCK
In an unusual move, Peacock’s ad for its “Poker Face” show starring Natasha Lyonne makes a nod to other commercials in the broadcast including ads for M&Ms and Google Pixel.
PEPSI ZERO
SUGAR
Pepsi is running two ads starring Ben Stiller and Steve Martin that ask “Great acting or great taste?” and ask viewers to taste Pepsi Zero Sugar for themselves.
PLANTERS
Jeff Ross, Natasha Leggero and other comedians hold a “roast” for the Planters spokescharacter Mr. Peanut.
POPCORNERS
The Frito-Lay brand recreates “Breaking Bad” with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul — but this time the duo are cooking up the PopCorners snack in their RV instead of anything illicit.
PRINGLES
Anyone can get their hand stuck in a Pringles can, according to Pringles’ latest Super Bowl ad effort, including singer Meghan Trainor.
RAM
Ram’s ad for its Ram 1500 REV electric pickup spoofed pharmaceutical ads for erectile dysfunction by showing drivers worried about “premature electrification.”
RAKUTEN
The online shopping site tapped “Clueless” stars Alicia Silverstone and Elisa Donovan to recreate a scene from the 1995 hit and convey that Rakuten gives shoppers cash back on purchases. Designer Christian Siriano also appears as a student.
SKECHERS
Snoop Dogg wears different Skechers throughout the day with cameos from Martha Stewart and others.
SQUARESPACE
Adam Driver contemplates the fact that “Squarespace is a website that makes websites” and splits into multiple versions of himself.
T-MOBILE
To promote its 5G home internet, John Travolta sings a version of “Summer Nights” with “Scrubs” stars Donald Faison and Zach Braff touting its benefits.
TURBOTAX
A man dances in front of a fountain to showcase the free time people will have if they let TurboTax professionals do their taxes for them.
UBER ONE
Uber’s ad for its membership program Uber One shows hip hop mogul P. Diddy working to create a hit song for Uber One. The ad features singers of famous hits, including Montell Jordan (“This is How We Do It”), Kelis (“Milkshake”), Donna Lewis (“I Love You Always Forever”), Haddaway (“What is Love”) and Ylvis (“What Does the Fox Say”).
WEATHERTECH
The auto accessories maker showcases the fact that its factories and workers are American.
WORKDAY
In the first Super Bowl ad from the enterprise software company, actual rock stars Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Joan Jett and others complain that office workers shouldn’t call each other “rock stars.”
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of NBA star’s last name. It’s Antetokounmpo, not Antetekoumpo.
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