TAMPA (AP) – The latest news about Super Bowl commercials. (All the time EST.)
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20:00
Most brands that have money to spend on Super Bowl commercials are already household names, but the big game is also a chance for fans to make a big splash.
This is what the CEO of the Swedish oat milk producer Oatly tried in an advertisement in which he played himself. “Wow, wow, no cow,” sang CEO Toni Petersson as he played the keyboard in a cereal field.
The bizarre song and the unprofessional singing got a mix of applause and bricks on social media, which seemed to be the point. Moments after the broadcast, the company began promoting a T-shirt with the words, “I totally hated this Oatly commercial.”
“If you just watched our CEO sing in an oat field at the big game, we can’t give you back those 30 seconds, but we can give you a free T-shirt that lets the world know where you stand in our attempt Toni’s singing skills for a wider audience, ”the company said in a tweet.
Another lesser-known brand, Dr. Squatch, also promoted itself with a bizarre commercial, but hired comedian James Schrader to launch the California soap maker focused on men’s hygiene and natural ingredients. ___
19:15
General Motors used humor in a Super Bowl commercial to promote its ambition to get more Americans to buy electric vehicles.
GM aims for the vast majority of the vehicles it produces to be electric by 2035, and for the entire company to be carbon neutral five years from now.
When actor Will Ferrell finds out that Norway has more electric vehicles per capita than the US, he goes on a crazy journey through countries with singer and actress Awkwafina and comedian Kenan Thompson to show that GM’s new battery for electric cars will be available soon for everyone.
GM’s Cadillac brand also has a later release in the game, which is inspired by the 1990 classic film “Edward Scissorhands,” which features a hands-free feature for its electric SUV, Lyriq.
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19:00
The DoorDash Super Bowl ad made nostalgia hard, enlisting the Sesame Street Muppets to send the message that DoorDash can deliver goods from local stores, not just restaurants. “Hamilton” actor Daveed Diggs gives the commercial a bit of pizazz, with a lively version of the children’s song “People in Your Neighborhood”, which turns into a rap.
DoorDash is one of the top 20 Super Bowl advertisers for the first time this year and is taking the step after benefiting from a shift to home delivery while people took shelter at home during the pandemic. The first-quarter announcement of DoorDash called for the help of characters, including Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Grover, to try to get the message that DoorDash can be used to pick up items from local stores, such as paper towels.
The ad is directed by “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” director Michel Gondry.
“In the last year, we’ve expanded our business into new categories,” said DoorDash Vice President of Marketing Kofi Amoo-Gottfried. “It made sense to use the Super Bowl as a time to start communicating this message, given the size of the audience we have the ability to speak to.”
It’s not the first time Diggs has worked with the Muppets – it appeared in the Sesame Street sketches in 2017.