The week before the Super Bowl has predictably seen a flurry of commercial activity, hype and hyperbole with more and more brands rolling out their big game ads to kickstart some momentum before Sunday. Celebrities! Puppies! GoDaddy even managed to ban its own ad ahead of time.
Not everyone has spilled their Super Bowl ad secrets, but here are all the commercials so far.
BUDWEISER “LOST DOG”
The beer brand and agency Anomaly double down on last year’s “Puppy Love” and bring us another furry adventure that will have you soaking up tears with those Doritos.
BMW “NEWFANGLED IDEA”
BMW and agency KBS take us back to 1994 with TV hosts Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel on The Today Show debating the meaning and logic behind a simple email address. Fast-forward 20 years and the two are sitting in a shiny new, electric BMW i3 and discussing its many futuristic features in much the same manner. The spot has been one of the breakout hits of the pre-game so far, with 4.3 million views on YouTube to date.
DOVE MEN+CARE “#REALSTRENGTH”
Last Father’s Day, the first version of this ad went viral. More than 12 million views later, the brand is bringing the spot back (now dubbed #RealStrength) to make Super Bowl fans weep man tears into their giant beers and nachos. It’s pretty much the same spot, with slight tweaks, but don’t call it a copout. Unilever director of marketing Jen Bremner says the huge response to the original prompted the brand to do more research and use the big game to bring the spot—which was online-only—to TV for the first time.
LEXUS “MAKE SOME NOISE”
While most brands dress themselves up all pretty and get fancy celebrity dates, Lexus is heading to the big ad dance in slacks and a shirt. The spot, by agency Walton Isaacson, with its electro soundtrack (enhanced with the old “sounds of the product making music” trick) dancers and its new NX model zipping around a dark warehouse, is a pretty basic car ad more befitting a midseason NHL game.
TOYOTA “HOW GREAT I AM”
The carmaker and agency Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles juxtapose Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy shredding on the mountain, ballroom dancing and more, all to the voiceover of an awesome 1974 rant by Muhammad Ali outlining all the ways he had achieved greatness. Toyota has another spot in the game, but you’re going to have to wait for that one.
CARL’S JR. “AU NATUREL”
Model Charlotte McKinney bares it all (sort of) for the fast feeder’s new burger with grass-fed, free-range beef with no added hormones, steroids, or antibiotics. The regional ad, by agency 72andSunny, got people as upset as you’d expect.
VICTORIA’S SECRET “LET THE REAL GAMES BEGIN”
Created in-house, this is exactly what you’d expect from a lingerie-filled hard sell pitch for Valentine’s Day.
KIA “THE PERFECT GETAWAY”
Here, in a spot by agency David&Goliath, we see Pierce Brosnan prepping for a role he’s not quite expecting.
EAT24 “HANGRY?”
Snoop Dogg and comedian Gilbert Gottfried define the term “hangry” and, lo and behold, Eat24 comes to the rescue of this awful munchies-based affliction. The food delivery service will be airing the spot in five markets—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Miami, and Baltimore.
NEWCASTLE “BAND OF BRANDS”
Some said it couldn’t be done. But Newcastle and agency Droga5 took this gag to its logical and most impressive extreme by cramming 36 other brands in its official Super Bowl ad.
MERCEDES-BENZ “FABLE”
The ad, by agency Merkley + Partners New York, retells the classic story of “The Tortoise and The Hare,” but with a Mercedes’ AMG GT helping out our shell-bound friend.
NFL “NO MORE”
This PSA by agency Grey New York uses the audio from a real 911 call over an unsettling film of the after effects of domestic abuse to get its message across. Considering all the controversy the league’s been dealing with around this issue this year, it’s no surprise it’s using its biggest stage to make a statement.
WIX “IT’S THAT EASY”
The cloud-based web development platform, and agency Committee LA, give former NFL stars like Brett Favre, Emmitt Smith, and Terrell Owens some post-football career advice. This is the extended version of its 30-second big game ad. Favre & Carve!
T-MOBILE “KIM’S DATA STASH”
Kim Kardashian makes an impassioned plea for you to consider all the lost mobile data you could’ve had to better enjoy her make-up, tennis backhand, outfits, vacations, and outfits (again).
BUD LIGHT “REAL LIFE PAC-MAN”
For the latest instalment of the brand’s “Up For Whatever” campaign, Bud Light and agency EnergyBBDO give two dudes the chance to play a real-life version of the classic arcade game.
THE VERGE “LEAKED SUPER BOWL AD”
The ad was “leaked” online and will air during the Super Bowl exclusively in Helena, Montana. The site’s parent company Vox Media has said the airtime cost the brand $700. Not a bad bargain to be lumped in with all the other Super Bowl ads.
h2]Mophie “All-Powerless”[/h2]
The portable phone charger, and agency Deutsch LA, uses its first Super Bowl ad to show what a disaster of biblical proportions it can be when your phone dies.
SNICKERS “THE BRADY BUNCH”
The brand and agency BBDO New York show us the threat of imminent violence is ever-present when Marcia and Jan Brady get hungry.