Super Bowl ads will feature Key & Peele, Amy Schumer, Christopher Walken — and Pokemon? – Tampabay.com
As Super Bowl commercials over the last few years have struggled to stand out, one web company is betting on an unconventional livestreamed comedy show to make a lasting impression.
A Super Bowl commercial starring Comedy Central actors Key & Peele (aka Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) is designed to lure you to their website to listen to their commentary on the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers, which will be streamed live during the entire game.
The innovative ad (and ploy) comes from Squarespace, a website provider, which admits they don’t have the rights to talk about the Super Bowl or the NFL, but will go on with the risky stunt anyway.
The actors will play characters Lee and Morris, two aspiring sportscasters from Atlanta.
The entire livestream will be improvised. No pressure: Only an estimated 188.9 million people will be watching the Super Bowl this year and Squarespace hopes to capture at least a fraction of those eyeballs.
The of a 30-second Super Bowl ad has jumped to $5 million, about $500,000 more than last year, according to CBS, which is broadcasting the game this year. Companies like Hyundai, Heinz and LG are among those willing to shell out the big bucks for access to the biggest TV audience of the year.
But 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.
Remember the “Bud”-“weis”-“er” frogs from 1995? Or the Big Brother-esque Apple commercial announcing the first McIntosh personal computer in 1984? How about the Betty White Snickers commercial from 2010? I don’t know if we’ll get one of that caliber in 2016.
Except, maybe, the Key & Peele livestream.
Plenty of the other Super Bowl 50 commercials are already online. Most are a little funny or a bit aw-worthy. There are some surprising new contenders this year, like Pokemon, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an inspiring “you can do it” themed spot.
And Quicken Loans, whose ad is an eerie reminder of just how obsessed we are with our phones and buying stuff.
For cuteness overload, don’t miss the wiener stampede commercial by Heinz, which features a herd of frolicking dachshunds dressed as hot dogs.
Aliens laugh and gawk at humans during the Avocados from Mexico commercial, its second Super Bowl ad, where the only thing we did right apparently was produce avocados in Mexico.
There are plenty of car companies in the mix this year — Acura is back with a new ad, Honda has singing sheep:
Mini has a powerful campaign that aims to defy labels starring celebrities like tennis champion Serena Williams.
A Kia commercial stars Christopher Walken and a walk-in closet pun (Though no cowbell).
Hyundai has two Super Bowl ads promoting the new Elantra, the first featuring a town, (Ryanville, population: yes,) where all men look like actor Ryan Reynolds. Luckily, the new Elantra “doesn’t get distracted” because of its pedestrian recognition capability.
Bud Light hasn’t released its ad yet, but a teaser shows comedians Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer suiting up — Spanx and all — for what looks like will be a political parody campaign with the accompanying hashtag #BudLightParty.
Taco Bell put out a crytic teaser starring NBA player James Harden.
This is the second year in a row Volkswagen — which three years ago got us good with the Darth Vader kid — isn’t in the mix, perhaps opting to keep a low profile after its emissions standards scandal.
A few other biggies, like Ford and Mercedes-Benz are out, too.
With the cost to compete so high, and with many ads going up on YouTube before the day of the big game, do Super bowl commercials have as much cachet as they used to?
That remains to be seen.
Source: Google News Super Bowl Commercials
Super Bowl ads will feature Key & Peele, Amy Schumer, Christopher Walken — and Pokemon? – Tampabay.com
