Octagon First Call

Celebrities and Corporations: Super Bowl Special February 2012

SUPER MUSIC
There were a slew of familiar songs featured in ad spots during the Super Bowl. Anheuser-Busch tapped Kanye West’s “Runaway” and Avicii’s “Levels” for their first Bud Light Platinum commercials. Avicii was featured in the second spot, seen DJ-ing a party at a fancy loft. Chevy used the hit song “We are Young” by Fun featuring Janelle Monae as a soundtrack to their ad for the Chevy Sonic. The spot also included action sports and reality star Rob Dyrdek and pop-rock band OK GO.  Budweiser used a mash-up of “She Sells Sancutary” by The Cult and “Good Feeling” by Flo Rida. Samsung channeled a karaoke bar by tapping the 2003 hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness for its celebrity filled spot with action sports star Paul Rodriguez, Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr, NFL all-pro linebacker Brian Urlacher. Not only did LMFAO make an appearance during Madonna’s halftime performance, but their hit single “Sexy and I Know It” was featured in a new M&Ms spot debuting the new “Ms.Brown” M&Ms character.

NBC’S STRONG SHOWING
NBC’s own Jay Leno shared an awkward elevator moment with Madonna in a commercial for The Tonight Show as his cell phone blared Madonna’s iconic “Like a Virgin.” Madonna also headlined the Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime show, which featured guest appearances by LMFAO, Cee-Lo Green, Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. Blake Shelton, country music star and judge on The Voice, sang God Bless America with his talented country singer wife Miranda Lambert during the pre-game show. Shelton and fellow Voice judges, Adam Levine, Cee-Lo Green and Christina Aguilera were upstaged by Golden Girl Betty White who made a surprise cameo in The Voice’s promotional spot during the game. The Voice also enjoyed the coveted post-game time slot this year and it did not disappoint. Ratings for the show were up 31% over Fox’s 2010 post-Super Bowl show Glee. NBC also featured a pre-game commercial for its much anticipated show, Smash, which premieres tonight at 10pm EST. The spot featured casts of other NBC hit shows like 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Recreation and Saturday Night Live in a reworked rendition of Frank Loesser’s "The Brotherhood of Man."  America’s Got Talent promoted its upcoming season by debuting Howard Stern as its new judge. Stern will sit alongside longtime judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel. NBC also aired an inspirational underdog-themed spot promoting the NBC Sports Network and pre-game, featured the premiere of Bob Costas’ town hall style series Costas Live which will air on the network. During the week, NBC shows took advantage of broadcast opportunities with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show and Access Hollywood all airing live from the city.

CHARACTERS YOU LOVE
Some of our favorite childhood characters made an appearance in this year’s Super Bowl ads. MetLife’s ad featured over forty cartoon characters including: Peanuts, Scooby Doo, Voltron, Astro and the Jetsons. You can find the full list of characters on their Facebook page.  M&M’s introduced its “Chief Chocolate Officer” Ms. Brown, the brown M&M who has stayed behind the scenes until now. The iconic Coca Cola polar bears appeared in a number of game-specific spots. Coke planned ahead with two contingency spots where the polar bears reacted to the actual score of the big game in the second half. Coke also allowed viewers to “live view” the polar bears watching the game. E*Trade continued its popular success of talking baby spots with a “speed dating” ad. The campaign debuted in 2008 – the last time the Giants and Patriots played in the Super Bowl. CareerBuilder.com also tapped its past success by bringing back the office monkeys for a spot entitled “Business Trip.”

THE RETURN OF FAMILIAR CELEBRITY FACES

Regis Philbin made a return to primetime television in a Super Bowl spot for Pepsi MAX, where a Coca-Cola employee surprisingly wins a lifetime supply of the product. Late night funnyman Jay Leno and actor-comedian-producer Jerry Seinfeld appeared for Acura's new car, the NSX.  The spot also reprised a few Seinfeld bits including The Soup Nazi. Elton John (alongside X Factor winner Melanie Amaro) played a king in a musically themed spot for Pepsi that included a surprise cameo by rapper and reality star Flava Flav. Dannon premiered a new spot for its Oikos Greek yogurt that featured current spokesman John Stamos. Stamos refuses to share his yogurt and in return, gets headbutted by a lady friend. Clint Eastwood appeared in a powerful Chrysler spot (Jeep, Dodge, Ram) that continued the "Imported from Detroit" campaign that debuted at last year's Super Bowl. Eastwood is also part of a striking USA Today ad cover by the brand in the newspaper today.  Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank panelist Mark Cuban made a brief cameo for the Skechers ad, which also featured "Mr. Quiggly" the dog. Capital One teamed up with Jimmy Fallon for another commercial and Jay Mohr returned to radio row on behalf of DiGiorno and Feeding America. Will Arnett, star of NBC's Up All Night, was tapped by internet giant Hulu for its Super Bowl spot. Gillette teamed up with rapper Andre 3000, actor Adrien Brody and Mexican director/actor Gael Garcia Bernal to promote their new campaign, "Masters of Style" in a pre-game Super Bowl commercial. Also appearing pre-game was Amy Sedaris and Mean Joe Greene for Downy. The spot was a play on the iconic Coca-Cola spot with Greene, who also participated in a promotional media tour for the brand.

ATHLETES DOMINATE THE WEEK (NOT JUST ON THE FIELD)

Defensive stalwart Justin Tuck and veteran Subway spokesperson made mention of the brand on ESPN's Mike & Mike early last week. Tuck also appeared in a print ad for the brand featured in USA Today this past Friday. Disney World tapped Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning for its legendary "I'm going to Disney World!" spot featured after the game.  Bridgestone ads were jam-packed with celebrities including NBA superstars Tim Duncan and Steve Nash, NFL legends Deion Sanders and Troy Aikman and ESPN on-air personality Michelle Beadle. Sanders also appeared alongside Donald Trump and Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno for Century 21. David Beckham made one of the most risque appearances of the night by sporting only his new underwear collection in a commercial for H&M. Danica Patrick made her annual appearance in a pair of GoDaddy.com ads with fellow sex symbols Victoria Secret model Adriana Lima, fitness coach Jillian Michaels and the new Pussy Cat Dolls.  Lima also teamed up with Telefora to promote Valentine's Day and encourage viewers to make the most of Valentine's night. Though he did not appear in any game ads, Clay Matthews stayed busy during Super Bowl week with appearances for Verizon and Castrol. He also appeared in a guest segment on the Ellen show for Suave for Men, who also had a strong on-site presence at the Super Bowl. The brand handed out Clay Matthews wigs and jerseys that were extremely popular with fans. Wes Welker and Hakeem Nicks were chosen as the pair featured in a full-page Got Milk? ad in USA Today last Friday. Hakeem Nicks appears again in his own full page Got Milk? ad with the caption "Nice finish." 2011 NFL Rookie of the Year, Cam Newton made multiple appearances in Indianapolis for Castrol, Under Armour, Gatorade and Courtyard by Marriott. Others making appearances and media tours included: Steve Young for Van Huesen (a partnership that also includes Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice), Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning for Gatorade, and Shannon Sharpe for KFC. Sharpe spent the Super Bowl at a fan's house as part of KFC's "Wingman" contest. Additional media tours and appearances came from: Drew Brees for XBOX Kinect, Eddie George for EA, Matt Stafford, Dhani Jones, Pierre Garcon and Michael Oher for Courtyard by Marriott and Desmond Howard, Reggie Wayne and Donald Brown for Castrol. Legendary quarterback Joe Theismann partnered with Medtronic to raise awareness for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) in a campaign called "Find the AAAnswers."