💡 Best ideas: Super Bowl Edition.
nutmeg fc #61.
The Super Bowl has come and gone and, once again, has left us with little. But, as the number 9 player on an ultra-defensive team, we'll do something with what little we have.
On a sporting level, we can say that the Philadelphia Eagles won, a team that has a small link to the world of footy football. In 2021, Rob McElhenny, creator of the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia TV series, Eagles fan and co-owner of Wrexham AFC, decided to make the Welsh club's substitute jersey green in honour of the club he loves.
Creatively, there were some interesting things, but nothing too memorable. Perhaps the Coors Light ad with the sloths will survive in popular culture for a while. There's still a lot of star studded rain (as in the Uber Eats ad) and nostalgic reunions. This year, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal recreated the legendary scene from When Harry Met Sally for Hellmann's mayonnaise. I don't know if I was more uncomfortable with the linking of the mayonnaise to an orgasm or Mr Crystal's toupee, but it's a good excuse to use the word cringe.
And if we're talking about the football we like, I was hoping for a bit more presence. Super Bowl ads are often a test of the American zeitgeist. In 2024 there were three ads with some link to soccer, this year there were four. What's curious is that all three of last year's football stars are back: David Beckham (switches from Uber Eats to Stella Artois), Wrexham AFC (remains with STōK) and Lionel Messi (previously with Michelob Ultra, now with AppleTV).
The novelty is the return of Nike as an advertiser after 27 years. The spot stars a number of female sports stars, including two football players: Spain's Alexia Putellas and USA's Sophia Wilson.
So win (Nike).
As I said a paragraph above, Nike is back. It is back as a Super Bowl advertiser, but it also returns to a more aggressive, defiant and less politically correct style. This can even be seen in the forms: it's appearing in one of the most masculine events in the world with an ad that only includes female athletes.
In addition to her presence in the spot, Alexia stands out as the only non-US athlete to be featured in the print campaign.
The other David (Stella Artois).
Recently, Stella Artois announced David Beckham as its new face with a campaign that, fittingly, did not feature the Spice Boy's face (see below the video).
This partnership now evolves to television, with a story in which DB7 discovers he has a twin brother living in the US who is (almost) nothing like him.
As if Beckham's star wasn't enough, the other David is played by Matt Damon.
Hollywood Magic (STōK).
Ryan Reynolds' universes come together in this ad that unites Wrexham AFC, the club he co-owns, with Channing Tatum, who stars in Deadpool & Wolverine, to promote STōK, Danone's iced coffee brand and sponsor of the Welsh club.
Tatum replaces Anthony Hopkins, who played Wrexham's mascot last year, in the lead role.
When football ends, fútbol begins (AppleTV).
Messi is back in an advert for the American football final, but luckily this time he wasn't asked to act.
Unable to call it football because it is a Super Bowl broadcast, but trying to get away from the term soccer that offends us so much, they decided to use the Spanish spelling of the beautiful game. Given that this is aimed at the target audience it's aimed, aren't they implying that this is a sport for Latinos? I wonder.