Familiar Faces Missing From Super Bowl Ad Line-Up

If you’re a fan of the Super Bowl commercials, you’ll notice some familiar faces missing from this year’s line-up.

At least three familiar icons from past Super Bowl commercials will be missing this year, including the E-Trade baby, the GoDaddy Girls and Subway’s Jared.

E-Trade announced it is out of the game, and Subway has said that it is focusing on the Winter Olympics. GoDaddy ads will still appear during the Super Bowl commercial breaks, however, the ads will go in a different direction.

Robert Thompson, pop culture professor at Syracuse University, says while some may notice the absence of the familiar icons, they are not as popular as other traditions, such as the Budweiser Clydesdales, which have appeared in Super Bowl ads for years.

Even then, says Thompson, E-Trade should think very hard before it throws its baby out with the bathwater. The brand’s smarty-aleck, chubby-cheeked baby has been its Super Bowl ticket to fame since 2007. “That baby is really, really associated with E-Trade,” says Thompson. “I can’t imagine them abandoning that entirely.”

The E-Trade baby has not appeared in E-Trade commercials for months.

GoDaddy, meanwhile, is putting its hot babes on ice. “The women you’ll see in our Super Bowl commercials this year will be super-smart, successful small-business owners,” says Barb Rechterman, chief marketing officer at GoDaddy, which is returning to the Super Bowl for the 10th consecutive year.

The company has so far declined to say how it will replace the GoDaddy Girls, but Rechterman notes both ads will focus on humor. Also, long-time spokeswoman Danica Patrick will appear in one of the spots — but not in her sexy, GoDaddy leathers.

Nor will Subway’s svelte Jared Fogle be back in Super Bowl.

Last year, for his 15th anniversary with the brand, Jared showed up in two Super Bowl spots. In the ads, he was congratulated by Subway athletes for keeping the weight off.