Super Bowl 2014: The latest

Marketing Week uncovers everything you need to know about this year’s Super Bowl campaigns, updated continually in our liveblog.

H&M

H&M is letting fans vote for their favourite David Beckham, directed by Drive’s Nicolas Winding Refn, which will air during next month’s Super Bowl. The Swedish style house is offering viewers the chance to pick from alternative versions of the star performing some impressive stunts as he tries to get to safety in his signature briefs. Voting kicks off next week (27 January) and will prompt nine pieces from the ex-footballer’s Spring range. The ad will allow viewers to instantly purchase products directly from it in what the retailer is touting as a “technology first”. NFL fans will be able to buy pieces from the upcoming collection as they watch the famed footballer player model on screen. It will only be available to a fraction of viewers, however, as the service has been developed through an exclusive tie-up with Samsung Smart TV and e-commerce platform platform Delivery Agent. The move is being supported by experiential activity and a social media competition to win two tickets to the Super Bowl game and the opportunity to meet the former Manchester United player.

Audi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nrbF21Ybo0

Audi is back for its seventh year of Super Bowl advertising with a campaign to promote its entry-level A3 model. The ad shows a couple that can’t decide whether to buy a Doberman or a Chihuahua and end up breeding the two to create a “Doberhuahua”. Chaos ensues. Audi will run the ad during the first in-game break in the third quarter, rather than in its usual spot immediately following the halftime show, in a bid to generate more social media chatter.

Hyundai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6IcZpeoroA

Hyundai has two ads running during the game, both from agency Innocean. In the first, Johnny Galecki, star of the TV show The Big Bang Theory, appears in a spot for the Elantra model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKL_cn8vhjo

The second promotes the redesigned Hyundai Genesis, highlighting the car’s safety features. Called “Dad’s Sixth Sense”, it shows a father keeping his son from harm, helped by the car.

Coca-Cola

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKi2wjELK6A

The drinks maker is hoping to top last year’s interactive Super Bowl push with ads that feature an all-American tale of triumph over adversity. This 60-second spot, entitled “Going All The Way” will debut on TV during the second half and is one of two ads from Coca Cola that will air during the game. Coke’s VP for global advertising strategy and content excellence Jonathan Mildenhall told Marketing Week the campaign is about “celebrating American society and Coca-Cola’s role within it”.

Cheerios

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKuQrKeGe6g

General Mills is returning to the Super Bowl advertising stage for the first time since 1996 with a campaign for its Cheerio’s brand. The ad sees the return of the family used in its “Just Checking” ad last year, which hit the headlines when the company closed the YouTube comments after a number of people posted racist comments. This 30-second spot features the Dad in the ads giving his daughter a family talk, worth watching for the look on the Mum’s face at the end.

Doritos

The PepsiCo-owned snack brand is giving its annual Crash the Super Bowl contest a comic twist by teaming up with Marvel to promote upcoming blockbuster “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”. The contest, which is open to fans worldwide for the first time, offers amateur filmmakers a chance to have their ad run during the big game. Doritos plans to air two of five user-generated spots – one picked by fans and one its marketing team chooses. Watch the ads from one of semi-finalists above.

Dannon Oikos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P1IqaTIhwk

American yoghurt brand Dannon Oikos ad has rounded up the cast of 1990s sitcom “Full House” for its Super Bowl effort. A 30 second opens on John Stamos – who played Jesse Katsopolis in the show – watching a football game while eating yoghurt. Once the match is over, the camera pulls back to reveal fellow “Full House” stars Bob Saget and Dave Coullier as their Danny Tanner and Joey Gadstone characters respectively sitting with Stamos in his kitchen.

Pepsi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzKRC8Lz6g8

Pepsi crashed this year’s Grammy Awards with an ad that asks what a half time show at the annual music awards would look like if the drinks maker had sponsored it. The fun ad features a host of American stars aping Miley Cyrus’ infamous “Wrecking Ball video, Daft Punk and country music. It also feature cameos from music artists Wake, Juicy J and Prince Royce.

Lynx/Axe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63b4O_2HCYM

Lynx has always gone for shock and awe with its adverts so its no surprise that its BBH-created Super Bowl spot alludes to the contentious subjects of North Korea, the Middle East, World War II and the Vietnam War. The seemingly somber ad is peppered with a Kim Jong-Un look-a-like, a man with what seems to be a bomb strapped to his wrist and a tank patrolling a war ravaged city. It all looks gloomy, before Lynx turns each scene into a romantic gesture with the strapline for its new Peace fragrance “Make Love Not War”.

Beats Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMu90mP1GBY

Dr Dre has drafted in American comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to front the debit ad for his Beats Music service. The Finding Nemo star gave viewers of her show a sneak peak of the ad which features her dancing with a person clad in a wolf’s costume. It teases at the craziness that’s in-store for the upcoming campaign suggesting the streaming service is going down a different advert path when compared to the ads from its sister Beats by Dr Dre headphones.

Volkswagen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzio0qhdxZY

Much has been made of Volkswagen’s attempts to top the success of its “The Force” Super Bowl ad in 2011. Those observations have not been lost on the brand with its latest ad poking fun at those efforts by promoting the “algorithm” for the “ultimate game day commercial”. What follows is a wild scene of Carmen Electra, puppies, babies, sumo wrestlers and more that only hints at the barrage of TV commercial clichés we can expect to be lampooned in the upcoming ad.

Jaguar

The car marque is making its first Super Bowl TV spot a British affair as it looks to push its F-Type Coupe up against more established American rivals. Jaguar has roped in The King’s Speech director and Oscar winner Tom Hooper to direct the ad, which features a trio of “British villains”. The spot stars Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong explaining why the Brits make the best bad buys.

Kia

Lawrence Fishburne is set to jack back into the Matrix as his iconic Morpheus character in Kia’s Super Bowl ad. It sees the dome-headed character offer a couple the choice between two keys – a spoof of the movie’s Red or Blue Pill scene – warning “should they choose wisely, their perception of luxury and Kia will never be the same again”. Kia says the three will then go on “an unforgettable ride” that challlenges “preconceived notions” of the brand. It is not the first time an advertiser has attempted to exploit the popularity of the sci-fi franchise. Last year, Hugo Weaving reprised his role as villain Agent Smith in a humorous advert for GE.

Toyota

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjmwdLM478A

The Japanese car maker is turning to Kermit and co to kick off a campaign for its revamped  “Highlander” model on game night. The ad also features “Everybody hates Chris” actor Terry Crews along for the ride, which Toyota claims will be full of “humorous hijinks, dancing and surprises”. The Muppets will be posting social media updates in the run-up to the game as well as appearing in two separate ads.

Bud Light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaVH58J0ia0

AB InBev has fired the starting gun on its Bud Light Super Bowl campaign with a series of star-spangled teasers featuring the likes of Arnold Schwarzenneger and Don Cheadle. One features the former mayor of California warming up for a ping-pong match, while the other shows the Iron Man actor standing in an apartment hallway with his pet Ilama. The teasers revolve around the campaign’s “Epic Night” theme which will tell several interweaving stories during the event.

Budweiser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQB7QRyF4p4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODeevS6Pb8c

The american beer brand is tugging on the heartstrings in its Super Bowl with the return of its popular Cyldesdales horses and the introduction of puppies. It centres on a pup as he grows up with a group of Clydesdale horses and ultimately earns a spot on the team that pulls the iconic Budweiser wagon that has featured in previous ads. The brand has also used the horses, which have been staple of its Super Bowl ads since 2008, in its second TV spot around the game, which pays tribute to returning soldiers.

Heinz

Heinz is returning to the Super Bowl spotlight after 16 years with a 30-second spot, marking only its second appearance at the event in its entire history. It will promote the notion that when a person picks up a Heinz product they are filled with happy memories associated with the brand. It is part of a wider Cramer-Krasselt-created campaign encouraging fans to share how they use Heinz condiments with the company vowing to reengage with its “great fans” in 2014.

Wonderful Pistachios

American nut brand Wonderful Pistachios has tied with political satirist Stephen Colbert to bring a new twist to its five-year “Get Crackin” advertising campaign. Two ads have already been shot but the brand has opted against launching them online prior to the match. Both TV spots are likely to be as razor sharp as Colbert’s skits if his wry statement of ‘dreaming of working with American’s premier nut company since he was a child’ is anything to go by.

SodaStream

SodaStreamScarlett-Campaign-2014_460

A year is a long time in ad land but not long enough for Sodastream it seems. The company’s Super Bowl advert has been rejected for the second year running after regulators took issue with its cheeky swipe at Coke and Pepsi. The ad features newly christened Sodastream brand ambassador Scarlett Johansson uttering the words: “Sorry Coke and Pepsi”. Last year’s ad sparked a debate around fairness of competition in the soft drinks market and this year’s effort looks like its ready to pick up where things left off. Expect the soda kit manufacturer to come back with a revised ad, as it did last year as the countdown to the big game winds down.

Butterfinger

Nestle is looking to set pulses racing with a raunchy ad for its snack brand. The sexual-innuendo filled ad follows Mr and Mrs Buttercup as they attempt to spice up their marriage. “Don’t you think it would be nice to try something new and crunchy”, says the female member of the couple hinting at what is to come on game night.

Newcastle Brown Ale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5xrl8cb3fw

Newcastle Brown Ale set the bar high with its Super Bowl teaser but it may have surpassed the effort with its playful ad starring Oscar-nominated actress Anna Kendrick. It features the “Up” star questioning whether she is “beer commercial hot”. The clever ad bleeps out the word “Super Bowl” due to Ab InBev’s exclusive advertising lock out for rival beer brands around the event.

Old Spice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csai_UBruRQ

Old Spice has rewarded one attentive viewer with tickets to the Super Bowl after he dialed a telephone number hidden in one of its ads. In the hair spray ad, a woman jots down her number for a man’s toupee after it flies off his head and across a table towards her.

Heinz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAhkswKitQg

The condiments maker has launched an extended version of its $4m (xxx) Tomato Ketchup Super Bowl ad in the hopes of generating some buzz around its return to the event after 16 years. Heinz is going for feel-good vibe throughout the ad with campers, bridesmaids, police officers and families hum the tune to “If you’re happy and you know it clap you hands”. The claps are punctuated with the people tapping the bottom of their ketchup bottles to get the sauce out.

M&M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNr1a-k3bwk

Yello M&M is taking centre stage in this year’s effort from the Mars brand, which promotes peanut M&Ms. You’ll have to wait until the Super Bowl for the full spot, but M&M has released a teaser featuring Yellow doing aerobics before being hit by a tranquilizer dart and abducted. Find out what happens to him on 2 February.

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