The Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will clash on Sunday in the National Football League’s championship game – the first Super Bowl appearance for the Bengals in 33 years.
While the Bengals will look to erase several decades of football mediocrity with one triumphant moment, many Canadians will be watching the big game from home – and the marketers for many brands will look to score a big win themselves.
Here is a rundown of all of the ads we know you can expect to see during Sunday’s game, from the global campaigns getting a boost from local buys to the Canadian brands looking to get eyeballs on ads both new and old.
Uber Eats
The delivery service is launching a series of ads for the Super Bowl to highlight its expansion into new categories beyond just food.
The global campaign, “Uber Don’t Eats,” features an array of celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Trevor Noah and Jennifer Coolidge and Capone’s “Oh No” – an earworm that will be instantly recognizable to any in the audience who like to spend their time on TikTok.
https://youtu.be/Ri-rXPw5Cnk
As the celebrities unpack their Uber Eats orders, which include essential items such as diapers, cat litter, light bulbs and paper towel, they get to wondering: “If if was delivered with Uber Eats, does that mean I can eats it?”
The results? Disastrous – and hilarious.
“Uber Eats has grown quickly from a platform to get your favourite meals delivered to a one-stop-shop for anything you need – from pharmacy essentials to groceries to alcohol and more,” says Lola Kassim, head of Uber Eats, Canada. “For this year’s Super Bowl ads, we thought we’d have a little fun – because while you can get everything you need on Uber Eats, you shouldn’t always eats it!”
Kruger Products
The CPG brand has bought time during the CTV and TSN broadcasts of the big game to air its award-winning Unapologetically Human spot, which was developed by Broken Heart Love Affair and first launched in Summer 2020.
The spot highlights all of Kruger’s brands, including Cashmere, Purex, SpongeTowels and Scotties. It’s the first time the company has aired a spot during the Super Bowl, and the spot will tip off a new campaign that will run until May in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hindu across both TV and digital.
BMW
If you ever wanted to hear Arnold Schwarzenegger sing, you’re in luck.
The action movie star pairs with Salma Hayek Pinault to depict Greek gods Zeus and Hera in a new spot from BMW and U.S. creative collective Special Group intended to promote its fully-electric iX Sports Activity Vehicle and four-door i4 Gran Coupe. It’s the automaker’s first Super Bowl ad since 2015.
The spot is a direct adaptation of one running in the U.S. and will air during the Canadian broadcast of the Super Bowl. Its premise is simple: after the gods retire to California, Zeus finds himself increasingly vexed by day-to-day, mundane living – until Hera brings an all-electric BMW home for him to take for a spin.
Add in Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and you’ve got quite a powerful statement.
“All-electric mobility is at the very heart of the BMW brand,” said Jens Thiemer, SVP of customer and brand with BMW AG. “There is no better place to make this statement than in front of one of the largest television audiences in the world, where viewers tune in as much for the commercials as they do for the game.”
Toyota
BMW isn’t the only automaker using the big game as a platform for a new spot. Toyota is bridging the gap between the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics with an ad that tells a broader story about mobility.
As reported in strategy, the new spot is the latest in the company’s global “Start Your Impossible” campaign, which first launched in 2018, and it features a pair of Canadian Paralympians: Brian and Robin McKeever. The brothers competed in three consecutive Paralympic Winter Games (2002, 2006 and 2010), and Brian is Canada’s most decorated Winter Paralympian with 17 medals, 13 of them gold.
It will air during the game’s first commercial break on NBC in the U.S. and CTV in Canada.
Polestar
Also among the automakers premiering a spot during the Super Bowl is premium electric automaker Polestar, which is hoping to boost awareness for its brand with its first-ever big game ad.
The 30-second spot was created with Forsman & Bodenfors and will air in the first quarter of the game. It centres on Polestar’s mission statement, “No Compromises,” and features the company’s all-electric Polestar 2 fastback. It released a teaser for the spot on Thursday.
TD Bank
TD is sponsoring the second quarter of the big game on CTV and will be airing the first Super Bowl commercial for TD Wealth, supporting its recently launched mobile trading app.
The 30-second spot features a young man who becomes overwhelmed at the thought of investing, before he’s told about TD Easy Trade by a friend. The premise is that the app makes investing simple.
https://youtu.be/s874otJNsTE
The ad deliberately targets a “new and emerging investors, many of whom are Millennials and Generation Z,” says Betsey Chung, global CMO for TD Bank Group. “Reaching this audience is hugely important for TD Wealth’s growth ambitions and the TV spot captures the deliberate mindset we’re taking to acquire this key customer segment.”
The spot will air in both official languages and was developed in partnership with Leo Burnett, who provided strategy, creative and production. Martel & Cie worked on the French language version of the spot. As Easy Trade is only available in the Canadian market, the spot will only be airing during the Canadian broadcast.
During each English broadcast of the game, the bank will air 30-second spots twice during the pregame, once in the first quarter, three times in the second and once in the third, totally seven spots. Three spots will air during the second quarter in the French market.
The ad will also run on YouTube, Connected TV, Twitch (in 15- and 30-second versions) and will be supported by paid media that goes live the day of the game.
BitBuy
The Kyle Lowry-backed crypto exchange is using the Super Bowl to kick off what will be a three-spot series. The first ad will feature Lowry in a boardroom with an exec in a marketing meeting, and whose enthusiasm leads him to be blind to why Lowry may be less than excited about the concept he is pitching.
Harvey’s
After airing during the pre-show last year, Harvey’s has upped the investment behind its “Burger Boss” campaign, bringing its latest spot to the main game. The ad, created by Giants & Gentlemen, features a trainee who is filled with a take-charge attitude thanks to the spirit of empowerment she got from customizing her burger with the new Harv Sauce.
Intuit Quickbooks
Another brand debuting an ad in both Canada and the U.S., Intuit is promoting both Quickbooks and MailChimp with a new campaign featuring DJ Khaled and his song “All I Do Is Win.” But the confidence of the song gives way to more, let’s say, clumsy takes on the song that more accurately reflect the worries entrepreneurs face. The spot was created by TBWA\Chiat\Day LA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6R8L6Bqrm4
It’s part of a broader campaign, which earlier this year included a Juniper Park\TBWA-created campaign that takes viewers inside the tropes that have become common in small business-focused ads to show the anxieties that lay beneath – and how Quickbooks helps entrepreneurs put those worries to rest.
“There’s been unprecedented growth in small businesses over the past two years and we know that to catch their attention, we need to meet them where they are,” Puja Subrun, head of marketing for Intuit QuickBooks Canada, told us about the choice to buy Super Bowl ad time. “We saw a big opportunity to reach early start business owners during the biggest football game of the year. Our appearance at the game will be just one aspect of our campaign.”
Joyburst
The No Sugar Company’s new, better-for-you energy drink will be featured in a 30-second spot airing nationally during the Super Bowl.
The spot – part of the brand’s “Natural Energy. It’s a Thing” campaign – features Brad Woodgate, the company’s CEO, who also self-funded the campaign. Woodgate makes a pitch for the beverages. Or rather, he tries to, but his pitch is disrupted by censoring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=676426372
He’s still able to show off some moves, though, in the form of a so-called “Joywalk.”
“We wanted to reach a mass audience with a lighthearted, viral and joyful message that you don’t need synthetic ingredients or sugar to energize your day,” said Woodgate.
The commercial will continue to air nationally on CTV for at least a month beyond the big game. It will be supported with social content, in-store sampling, point-of-sale promotions and PR.
Other brands
Though they have not yet disclosed which ads they’ll be airing, Bell Media has confirmed the Super Bowl broadcast will also feature ads from Pepsico Canada, VRBO, Expedia, Disney Studios, Moneris and YUM.
