Super Bowl Ads: What To Expect

Super Bowl Weekend is here and so are the ads ... Pepsi, United Airlines, GoDaddy.com, Toyota, Burger King, CareerBuilder.com, and Nationwide.

P. Diddy and Jackie Chan team up with the Diet Pepsi Can and its agent to make music and movies as Pepsi celebrates Super Bowl with news campaign

After two decades of groundbreaking and memorable advertising during the Super Bowl -- sometimesfeaturing the world's most popular celebrities -- Pepsi is at it again. This time, zero-calorie Diet Pepsi is the star, and the "Diet Pepsi Can" becomes a celebrity in its own right. Two commercials for the brand, along with a third for Sierra Mist, will air in the first and second quarters of Super Bowl XL on ABC's February 5 telecast.

Diet Pepsi, newly dubbed this season as the official soft drink of the National Football League, continues to raise its profile with a second straight appearance on the Super Bowl.

"People have loved Diet Pepsi for decades and the brand is currently experiencing great popularity," said Cie Nicholson, SVP and chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America. "The Super Bowl offers the perfect platform for a new Diet Pepsi campaign. This brand is an important fixture in our portfolio and we will continue to look for opportunities to put it center
stage."

The can's agent, Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire, "Last Comic Standing") meets with each celebrity to make sure his client gets the best deal. A brief description of each commercial follows:

• Diet Pepsi - "Hip-Hop Can" (:60)
  Sean (P. Diddy) Combs turns to Diet Pepsi to help him produce a new hit song. They both go into the studio to create a new track, "Brown and Bubbly," that immediately races up the charts.
• Diet Pepsi - "Stunt Can" (:30)
  Jackie Chan looks to co-star with Diet Pepsi in his next big action movie. Once on the set, Jackie finds a clever solution to a tricky problem.

(Source: Pepsico media release)

Emmy-nominated campaign breaks creative ground with its first-ever use of stop motion animation and puppetry

Business travelers watching their favorite team battle for the coveted Super Bowl title will be inspired to charge the boardroom and challenge corporate foes with United as their ally.

The first United Super Bowl ad in at least a decade, "Dragon" willdebut during the Feb. 5 Super Bowl XL game, just prior to the start of the much-anticipated halftime event. The television advertisement will appear in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Set to one of the most dramatic variations yet of George Gershwin's"Rhapsody in Blue," the new 60-second advertisement alludes to the obstacles and successes business travelers face and United's commitment to enablingtheir personal and work-life success.

"We wanted our ads to depict the life experiences of our frequent businesstravelers in a thoughtful and differentiated way," said Dennis Cary, United'ssenior vice president - Marketing. "The quality and uniqueness of Dragon'sinnovative animation technique helps us to achieve our goal of making thatspecial connection with our most valued customers."

A short clip of the ad released today provides a glimpse of the magic of both the "Dragon" storyline and puppetry and can be found at http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/united/23623/.

"A parent's business trip seen through a child's eyes seemed like rich creative territory," said Stuart D'Rozario, group creative director with Fallon, the agency behind several award-winning United ads. "The puppets and stop motion animation style allowed us to tell the story and express theemotion in a really unique way."

Each figure and element of the set was hand-painted and individually assembled -- including the installation of small hinges for movement before being brought to life through the complex, seven-month filming process. Puppets were "rigged" to the set and the camera shot each of the 1,440individual frames to create movement. Following filming, the rigs were digitally removed from the animation. "Dragon" was directed by Jamie Caliri of the production company Duck Studios.

(Source: United Airlines media release)

Showdown ends with time running out - GoDaddy.com in the game again

GoDaddy.com, the No. 1 registrarof domain names worldwide -- and the advertiser censored in last year's Super Bowl commercial controversy -- is thrilled to announce it WILL be advertising in Super Bowl XL(1).

After 14 revisions and weeks of intense negotiations, the ABC Television network today gave its approval for the Internet powerhouse to broadcast a "GoDaddy-Esque" commercial in the big game.

"This showdown went down to the wire. We were about out of time and had produced our 14th and final attempt. I'm ecstatic about being in the Super Bowl again," said Bob Parsons, founder and president of GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy.com developed 14 different spots in an effort to produce a commercial that was acceptable to both GoDaddy.com and ABC TV. GoDaddy.com agreed to buy a 30-second ad in the February 5 Super Bowl, but struggled to win creative approval from the ABC Television network's "Standards andPractices" division.

"GoDaddy.com's commercial may not appeal to everyone, but I guarantee it will be 'GoDaddy-Esque.' That means it will be FUN, edgy and just a touch inappropriate," Parsons said. Last year, GoDaddy.com's edgy commercial, a parody on censorship, was pulled before it aired a scheduled second time during the Super Bowl. The ensuing controversy resulted in more than $11 million of publicity, according to multivision inc. Parsons believes the attention generated by last year's censorship coverage made advertising again this year more difficult, but defends the creative content that ABC rejected as being no more risque than what airs on primetime television.

"It's not nearly as racy as the Victoria's Secret commercial, which ABC has aired many times. Nor is the Go Daddy commercial as risque as the JessicaSimpson ad, or the suggestive soda spot urging testosterone-drunken viewers to, Let Your Man Out," Parsons said. Both commercials, Parsons pointed out, were reportedly approved by ABC for Sunday's Super Bowl before GoDaddy.com was allowed to advertise.

To learn more about GoDaddy.com's quest to advertise in the Super Bowl,visit, http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/superbowl06/timeline.asp

(Source: GoDaddy.com media release)

Toyota hybrid focuses on father and son

While some companies are waiting until Sunday to debut their Super Bowl ads, Toyota is offering consumers a sneak peak of its entire Super Bowl commercial on Toyota.com andToyota.com/espanol. The ad also is available as an iPod download.

Toyota's Super Bowl ad features a "hybrid" approach with English and Spanish to demonstrate the Camry Hybrid's use of gas and electricity. The ad features a Hispanic father and son driving in their new Camry Hybrid. The father explains that he bought a hybrid for the same reason he speaks twolanguages -- for the boy's future.

"We've had tremendous response to the initial publicity about the spot anddecided to go ahead and make it available in advance of the game," said JimFarley, Toyota Vice President of Marketing. "We think it does a good job of conveying the cross cultural message that parents act to improve their children's future. At the same time it briefly explains how the Camry Hybridworks and highlights its benefits."

The ad, which will run in the first quarter of the Super Bowl, wasdeveloped by Conill, Toyota's Hispanic advertising agency, and is Toyota's first bilingual, bi-cultural ad. It will also be the first ad to run for theall-new 2007 Camry. Toyota is the top automaker among Hispanics and Camry is the third-best-selling car among Hispanics. Twenty-five percent of Hispanics 18 and over watch the Super Bowl.

(Source: Toyota media release)

The King gets his time during the Super Bowl

After an 11-year hiatus, Burger King Corporation (BKC) will return to Super Bowl advertising with a 60-second spot, created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, scheduled to air in the second pod of ads immediately following kickoff of Super Bowl XL in Detroit on Feb. 5 on ABC.

Burger King Corporation has enjoyed a very successful partnership with the National Football League all season long, and we wanted to take full advantage of this enormous world stage to provide sports fans and restaurant guests with another memorable experience," said Russ Klein, chief marketing officer, BKC. "We hope the Super Bowl audience will find the BURGER KING(R) ad an entertaining addition to the gridiron action on game day."

Watched by more than 133 million viewers in the U.S. last year, the SuperBowl is annually the nation's highest-rated TV program. The game will be broadcast to a potential worldwide audience of 1 billion in more than 225 countries and territories.

A new series of NFL-themed television ads featuring the King going head-to-helmet again with the pros will support the promotion and begin airing Jan. 9. Burger King Corporation is also teaming up with the NFL and U.S. Figure Skating Association to offer kids and families a choice of eight unique handheld electronic games with the purchase of a Kids Meal while supplies last.

(Source: Burger King media release)

Monkey business returns to the SuperBowl!

CareerBuilder.com is back in the Super Bowl TV ad lineup for the second time and bringing along the popular chimpanzee stars of last year's award-winning commercials. The only dot com advertiser to sign up for the big game to date, CareerBuilder.com is running two new 30-second Super Bowl spots featuring the chimps as part of a national, year-long marketing blitz. The chimp blitz, expected to surpass last year's campaign valued at more than $200 million, supports a bold business plan aimed at producing another record year for CareerBuilder.com in revenue growth and market share gains. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060123/CGM015 )

"With the aid of the Super Bowl, last year's marketing campaign produced a 50 percent increase in brand awareness among our target audiences," said Richard Castellini, Vice President of Consumer Marketing at CareerBuilder.com. "Aside from the critical acclaim we received, the humor and message really hithome with viewers as we achieved records in overall traffic the week following the game. Viewers could relate to the feeling of working with a bunch of monkeys and recognized CareerBuilder.com as the leading source to find abetter job. This year, viewers can expect to see more outrageous tales from the office as we take our campaign and outreach efforts to the next level."

The CareerBuilder.com commercials, created by Cramer-Krasselt, are scheduled to air in the second and third quarters of the Super Bowl. The spots will once again feature the perils of a human employee working in an office populated entirely by chimpanzee co-workers who have a less-than-desirable work ethic, no understanding of business and a penchant for play.

The tagline remains the same as last year: "a better job awaits." The 2006 spots will take last year's creative to new heights of off-the-wall humor, building on a story that was well-received by critics and consumers.

One of CareerBuilder.com's 2005 Super Bowl spots was recently named "Funniest Commercial of the Year" in TBS's annual poll and will be included in CBS's soon-to-air "The Forty Greatest Super Bowl Commercials."

"The overwhelming response from job seekers and employers to our 2005 Super Bowl ads made it an easy decision to come back in 2006," said MattFerguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "CareerBuilder.com was actually the first company to sign up for the 2006 Super Bowl lineup after measuring the positive impact this far-reaching venue had on our business performance. Our 2005 marketing campaign contributed to a successful year that generated a revenue increase of more than 70 percent over 2004 for the first nine months, double the industry average. We expect our marketing and sales efforts in 2006 to bring our business even greater gains in revenue and market share."

CareerBuilder.com has an eclectic marketing program planned for the NewYear, blending national and grass roots promotions. It includes high profile events such as the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and Academy Awards; primetime network and cable television flights; as well as local radio, print, interactive and stadium ads. CareerBuilder.com will also continue its mobile marketing tour, which is visiting over 40 cities as well as 140-plus college campuses.

(Source: CareerBuilder.com media release)

Romance icon Fabio stars in new 'Life Comes at You Fast(R)' spot

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company continues its award-winning Life Comes at You Fast advertising campaign with its first ever national Super Bowl ad. The ad features international romance icon and multimedia star, Fabio.

In keeping with its unique campaign of the last two years, Nationwide ads use humor to make an important point: Life Comes at You Fast - often before you realize it. Whether it's getting married, having a child, buying a new home, or saving for college or retirement, advance preparation is key, especially when it comes to insurance and financial planning.

The Super Bowl ad begins with a "misdirect," typical of other spots in the Life Comes at You Fast campaign, where viewers believe they are seeing an ad for something else entirely before finding out they're watching a Nationwide ad. Fabio floats on a gondola through the canals of Venice with his love interest. A voice suggests that Fabio is introducing his own line of shampoo. Just as viewers become convinced they are watching an over-the-top shampoo ad, the gondola passes under a bridge and Fabio emerges as a 90-year-old man. Viewers are let off the hook when Nationwide's Life Comes at You Fast slogan appears on the screen.

"The Life Comes at You Fast concept was created to remind people that they need to think about preparing for the future," said Steven Schreibman, vice president of advertising and brand management for Nationwide. "We're using humor and a celebrity to get people's attention and cut through the clutter with a very serious message: You need to be prepared for life to change,because change is inevitable."

This is the third consecutive year of the Life Comes at You Fast advertising campaign, produced by T:M Advertising of Dallas, and Nationwide's most aggressive brand advertising push ever. In addition to the Super Bowl, Nationwide's 2006 ad buy will include 46 regional markets, national cable,national internet and regional advertising during the Olympics. The Fabio spot will be one of a series of new Life Comes at You Fast ads. This is the second Nationwide ad to feature a well-known celebrity. Rapper M.C. Hammer was thestar of the 2005 campaign.

"I know from experience that Life Comes at You Fast," said Fabio. "I am continually preparing for the next stage of my career - taking steps to ensure that as life changes I will be ready for the future." The Fabio ad will run during the third quarter of the Super Bowl and will be available at http://www.nationwide.com after the television debut. Two other new Life Comes at You Fast ads will air nationally during pre-game coverage on ABC.