If the ads during the Super Bowl LVI of 2020 were defined by a wave of encrypted ads (RIP FTX), in Ads airing during the upcoming Super Bowl 57 are increasingly defined by the culture wars, with candy ads clearly responding to conservative cable news segments, and ads for non-alcoholic beer, diet soda and food waste. have to.
Lest you think the big game is getting too soft, there’s also Walter White (Bryan Cranston) shilling for snacks, Serena Williams and Boo Ryan Cox sells beer, so the classic genre will be well represented.
On Monday, M&M’s announced that it would be “indefinitely suspending” its long-time “spokesperson” and instead announced a new one: Maya Rudolph .
The decision was allegedly made after online commenters (and Fox news host Tucker Carlson) commented on the recent Changes made to candy characters after objection is made. As it happens, this year’s Super Bowl will be broadcast on the Fox broadcast network.
“We’re not sure if anyone will notice. We definitely don’t think it’s going to break the internet,” the candy brand wrote in a release. “But now we get it — even candy shoes can be polarizing. That’s the last thing M&M’s want, because we’re all about bringing people together.”
Of course, the entire segment is for the Super Bowl commercial, which will air the first quarter of the game and will star Rudolph. Whether the brand is leaning toward a culture war, or pursuing a different strategy remains to be seen. As for the endorser’s future, remember Mr. Peanut’s untimely death before Planters’ Super Bowl commercial in 2020 was short lived.
But the fictional talking candy wasn’t the only ad that grabbed the internet’s attention this year. On a day so closely associated with indulgence (alcoholic beverages, lots of unhealthy food), many activities seem to favor restraint.
So Paul Rudd Ant-Man drank non-alcoholic Heineken before saving the world (Disney and A joint campaign by the Dutch beer giants) or PepsiCo touting its diet soda at the start of a major new campaign.
Frito-Lay, which makes a large portion of supermarket snack aisles, is turning to one of its healthiest options: PopCorners, popcorn-based chips. The company has hired Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul to remake their Breaking Bad Walter White and Jesse Pink Mann’s role.
Even a mayonnaise company is turning to environmentalism, with Hellmann’s launching a new “Create Taste, Don’t Waste” campaign.
Of course, this is still the Super Bowl, so there will still be plenty of familiar faces and brands at this year’s game.
So far, Kevin Bacon has worked on a Budweiser ad, while Serena Williams and Brian Cox starred in Caddyshack imitates Michelob Ultra.
The big game is 3 weeks away and there is room for more surprises. If brands want to make a big splash, perhaps an outrage machine might be just the ticket.
After all, no one was talking about the shoes worn by cartoon M&Ms until Carlson spent an entire time on the subject. Zero-alcohol or sugar-free beverages, mayonnaise that is more environmentally friendly than a sandwich, or healthy snack foods could be the next atrocity.
