Talk we must about Super Bowl ads

Screenshot via Fox News

It’s Super Bowl weekend and you know what that means. It means companies are spending millions of dollars on advertising during the biggest game of the year for football fans. Fox is happy to take their money. Ad spots are going for as much as $7 million for 30 seconds.

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Fox is broadcasting the Super Bowl this year. The media giant made a fun decision to give Fox’s late-night show host Greg Gutfeld an ad spot to promote his show, “Gutfeld!”. It’s a quick 15-second promo but it should send progressive heads exploding across the country. If you are a fan of the show (I am), you will enjoy it. The best trait Gutfeld exhibits during his performance is his ability to make fun of himself and others. No one is exempt. The ad features Gutfeld, Tyrus, & Kat Timpf. Even Gutfeld’s dog, Gus, gets a camera shot.

Gutfeld’s show is killing it in ratings. It fills a vacuum in late-night programming. There was an absence of conservative-leaning entertainment in the late-night department until this show came on. During the 2022 TV season and in January 2023, Gutfeld’s ratings were second only to CBS’s “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Not bad for a new show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Gutfeld!” beat Colbert’s show from August to December 2022.

Mr. Peanut is getting roasted this year. In 2020, Planters killed him off in a Super Bowl ad and brought him back as a baby. That was weird. This time a panel of comedians roasts him.

Led by New Jersey comedian and “Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross, the Super Bowl roast, promoting the brand’s various types of dry roasted peanuts, includes the talents of Natasha Leggero, and other comedians like Atsuko Okatsuka, Frank Castillo, Yamaneika Saunders, David Lucas, and Sarah Tiana.

“I’ll make this quick, Mr. Peanut, I know you got some brownies to ruin,” Ross says in the commercial (see video below).

“Mr. Peanut, why are you dressed like it’s five recessions ago?” Leggero asks the monocled legume.

“Mr. Peanut, what do you eat at parties?” Okatsuka wonders. “People?”

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Yeah, not knee slappers but it’ll work for the audience. It ends with Mr. Peanut saying, “Wow that was brutal. Wish Planters would just kill me off again.”

A group of wealthy Christians is spreading the word about Jesus. Two new ads proclaim “He Gets Us.” Religious affiliation is in decline and the ads are meant to reach more than 100 million viewers during the Super Bowl.

“It fits with our target audience well,” said campaign spokesperson Jason Vanderground about the NFL and its big game. “We’re trying to get the message across to people who are spiritually open, but skeptical.”

Ads in the past with a religious theme have caused controversy.

Some advertisers, like the Church of Scientology, have opted to air regional ads during the game. But the 30-second and 60-second “He Gets Us” spots will join a modest list of past faith-based ads aired nationally, including some that spurred controversy.

In 2010, the anticipated debut of a Super Bowl ad by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian ministry long involved in anti-abortion efforts, received pushback from abortion-rights advocates and others in the run-up to the game. The ad featured Pam Tebow, mother of football star Tim Tebow, talking about her challenging pregnancy with her son. She chose not to have an abortion despite medical concerns.

“I think we ended up in the Top 10 for the most controversial ads … that wasn’t the one I wanted, but it’s OK. I communicated a message,” said Focus on the Family CEO Jim Daly. He said the goal was to reach the most people with “a quick story about the positivity of choosing life.”

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We’ll see how this year’s versions work out.

There are four newborn Budweiser Clydesdales this year. They won’t appear in this year’s ad but will host a watch party that day. There will be a new ad narrated by Kevin Bacon. It will only play in some markets, though, a change from previous years. Budweiser is not the sole beer sponsor this year. For the first time in 30 years, Anheuser-Busch isn’t the exclusive Super Bowl beer advertiser. Molson Coors and Heineken, as well as others, are expected to run national ads.

Budweiser is having a special Football and Foals watch party that day at the foals’ home. Guests can watch the game on four big screens and get photos with the new arrivals and other Clydesdales. The $100 tickets also include appetizers, dinner, and two 16-ounce beers. Tickets are available on the Warm Springs Ranch website.

Budweiser will debut a new commercial based on the Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon theme, with the actor providing narration as a six-pack connects a wide variety of beer drinkers.

But that ad will play only in select regional markets, Anheuser-Busch told USA TODAY. The company will have national ads for Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Busch beers.

The Clydesdales are a favorite of mine every year. I don’t have a favorite team in this year’s Super Bowl. I’ll be watching, maybe, and hoping for some entertaining commercials.

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