With Super Bowl 50 set to air this Sunday on CTV, several brands have made an investment to reach the millions of Canadians that will be watching what could be the last game to feature Canadian advertising. While some details are either under wraps or still being decided, we’ve compiled as much information as we could about the new work and already-debuted spots you and the rest of Canada can expect to see in between plays.
New creative
Hyundai
Hyundai Canada is using the big game to officially launch the 2017 Elantra, which is set to appear in showrooms this month. To show off all the “super” capabilities the car’s “Superstructure” provides, the company brings back the high-octane visuals of the “H-Factor” campaign it first debuted during last year’s Super Bowl and uses for ads airing during big events. But if you’re a bigger fan of the brand’s more recent spots featuring nervous discussions between Hyundai’s competitors, be sure to stick around until the end. Innocean Worldwide Canada created the spot and handled the media buy.
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Nissan
Nissan Canada, which is also returning as a quarter sponsor for the game, will debut the fifth TV spot in its longstanding “#ConquerAllConditions” platform for the Rogue. Past spots have seen the car prove that it’s tough enough to stand up against monstrous versions of terrible road conditions come alive, from angry snowmen and icy-covered trees to potholes and giant mud-men. The new “Rocky Road” ad, created by Juniper Park\TBWA, has the Rogue rescuing passengers of a lesser car from rocky creatures of all sizes.
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Kit Kat
Brands in Canada and the U.S. have taken much of the surprise out of Super Bowl advertising in recent years, with teasers for ads appearing on YouTube and social platforms in the weeks before the game (if not releasing the ad in its entirety). Kit Kat is not one of those brands, and it’s remained tight-lipped on its execution. According to a release from Bell, the Nestlé Canada chocolate bar brand will debut a campaign that’s launching a new, bigger Kit Kat that is meant to be shared. If that’s enticing to you, keep your eyes online for a live execution on Twitter the brand apparently has planned.
Doritos
Doritos will be airing the winner of this year’s “Crash The Super Bowl,” the final edition of the contest that has seen fans submit their idea for the brand’s Super Bowl commercial for the past 10 years. Though no Canadian creator made it to the finals this year, you can still go over to the campaign website and get a sneak peak at the contenders.
Budweiser
Technically, the Super Bowl won’t be the first time Canadian TV viewers will see a commercial letting them know about the new giant version of Budweiser’s Goal Light and its upcoming trip to the North Pole, since a 60-second spot will be debuting the night before during Hockey Night in Canada. But it will be the debut of the 30-second spot, so we’ll allow it. Led by Anomaly Toronto, this is the latest hockey-related campaign Budweiser has launched in front of the millions watching during the Super Bowl, joining the attention-grabbing “Flash Fan” spot and previous version of the goal light. Budweiser will also be airing a spot out of the U.S. (by Anomaly New York) featuring actress Helen Mirren viciously insulting drunk drivers in Canada.
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Wealthsimple
The low-cost investment management provider will be debuting new creative in its “Take Care of Yourself” campaign.
Shock Top
As far as we can tell, Canadians aren’t likely to see the cut-down version of the extended spot below during the game if they’re watching on CTV, but the strong Canadian connection is still worth mentioning. The spot was created by Anomaly Toronto, based off the talking orange wedge mascot the agency developed for the Canadian market in 2014 and was later adapted south of the border. The concept for the Super Bowl spot is pretty straightforward: the wise-cracking fruit (voiced by comedian Martin Montana) meets his potential match when comedian T.J. Miller sits down at the bar, and the two proceed to spend the rest of the spot trading insults.
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Existing Creative
While many brands in Canada don’t put as much creative investment into the Super Bowl as their U.S. counterparts, the draw of all those eyeballs is hard to resist. Burger King, GlaxoSmithKline, Chartered Professional Accountants, Mackenzie Investments, President’s Choice and President’s Choice Financial are among those that have bought airtime to air pre-existing creative this year, as are a few others:
BMO
The bank will be using its first shot at ad space during the game to get more eyes on its recently-launched “BMO Effect” brand platform, namely the “Robot” spot created by FCB Toronto with support by FCB Chicago.
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Volkswagen
Volkswagen Canada will be using its airtime to show a piece of creative from a recently-launched campaign around App-Connect, its connected car platform, showing how easy it is for a guy to make calls, send texts and look up maps with the platform while he searches for his lost dog. It was created by DDB Canada, Volkswagen’s Canadian AOR.
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Sun Life Financial
A new winter spot added to Sun Life’s recently-launched “Money For Life” platform has been airing since shortly after the holidays and will be used during the Super Bowl, which Sun Life has had a regular presence at over the years. The spot was created by Sun Life’s AOR FCB Toronto with PHD on media.
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Mazda Canada
Mazda will be airing the “Proposal” spot, created by New York agency Berlin Cameron United as part of its “Driving Matters” campaign, which shows a couple in the Mazda CX-5 braving a snowy road so the guy can have the perfect proposal. A version of the spot hasn’t appeared on YouTube, but you can see it at this link.
Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a hockey bank, but that doesn’t mean a football game isn’t a good chance to get some attention for its “5th Season” hockey platform among sports fans, using the campaign’s anthem spot starring P.K. Subban.
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