Audiences no longer need to wait until the Big Game to watch Super Bowl commercials, with an increasing number of marketers opting to release their spots days before kickoff. This year is no different, with Budweiser, Budweiser, Bud Light, Kia, Mercedes-Benz USA, T-Mobile, Victoria’s Secret, BMW, even Paramount with “Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” among those having already posted their ads online.
The reason? The high cost to play the Super Bowl promo blitz is one. At around $4.5 million per 30 second ad, buying time during the match up between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots is at record levels. NBC is airing the game Feb. 1.
An early look at this year’s ads signals that comedy will play a major role after scoring with consumers in previous years.
Below is a list of what to expect to see on Super Bowl Sunday:
UNIVERSAL’S “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY”
Universal made an effort to appeal to the female viewers of the Super Bowl with its “Fifty Shades of Grey” spot while reaching out to males with a kicker of a line referencing Microsoft’s Xbox videogame console.
http://youtu.be/ey7joQ10fZk
UNIVERSAL’S “TED 2”
Universal produces a footaball-themed spot for “Ted 2,” starring quarterback Tom Brady. It is the Super Bowl, afterall.
http://youtu.be/w9CNXIruNfE
UNIVERSAL’S “FAST 7”
In addition to promoting its “Fast and Furious” theme park attraction, Universal naturally also hyped “Fast 7,” the latest intsallment of the franchise, racing into theaters in April.
http://youtu.be/4vYQby_hDDU
UNIVERSAL’S “JURASSIC WORLD”
Universal unleashed more footage of “Jurassic World” during the Super Bowl, providing a closer look at the dinosaurs that attack theme park visitors in the film, in theaters this summer.
http://youtu.be/4mvWuky1g0g
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD: “FAST AND FURIOUS – SUPERCHARGED”
Universal used the Super Bowl’s pre-game show to promote its new “Fast and Furious” theme park attraction, starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Tyrese Gibson and Michelle Rodriguez. It also aired a Super Bowl ad for its “Transformers” ride in 2012, and the opening of Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010.
http://youtu.be/ChhwKN0zplI
UNIVERSAL’S “PITCH PERFECT 2”
The gang’s all back in Universal’s sequel.
http://youtu.be/Si9U9dMJ_WE
UNIVERSAL’S “MINIONS”
Turns out the yellow Minions of “Despicable Me” are big fans of the Super Bowl too.
http://youtu.be/joRSujsHoks
SUPERCELL
Liam Neeson’s all gruff in a humorous riff on his action roles for mobile gamemaker Supercell in its promotion of “Game of Clans.”
ESURANCE’S WALTER WHITE TIE-IN
Bryan Cranston pitches for Esurance as “Breaking Bad’s” Walter White. Well, sort of.
http://youtu.be/PUtEpnTprU4
T-MOBILE, starring Kim Kardashian
Last year, T-Mobile’s Super Bowl ad was text-based and ended with, “Maybe next year, we’ll do an ad with overpaid movie stars.” Kim Kardashian is now that celeb with a spot in which she promotes the cell phone service provider’s Data Stash program, as well as her new book, “Selfie.” In it, she says, “Each month millions of gigs of unused data are taken back by wireless companies. Tragic. Data you paid for that could be used to see my makeup, my backhand, my outfits, my vacations and my outfits. Sadly all lost. Please, help save the data.” T-Mobile already has scored with the spot, which has been viewed over 1 million times.
http://youtu.be/ZTwzsV3I3OQ
SNICKERS AND “THE BRADY BUNCH”
The spot doesn’t include puppies, but there’s Danny Trejo and a very angry Marcia and Jan Brady.
http://youtu.be/rqbomTIWCZ8
http://youtu.be/UYFGNydGBNs
PARAMOUNT: “TERMINATOR GENISYS”
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in this attempt to reboot the “Terminator” franchise.
http://youtu.be/N4zhBQfqVCc
KIA, featuring Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan revisits his roles as suave super spy James Bond in Kia’s Super Bowl commercial. The version below is the extended cut of what will air during the Big Game.
http://youtu.be/rSqqCI0LNHs
E!’S “THE ROYALS”
Talk about synergy: Comcast is giving E! some airtime during the Super Bowl to promote “The Royals,” which returns March 15.
http://youtu.be/yaH3Qz0nj8Y
BMW, starring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel
Built around a segment featuring the former “Today Show” hosts in 1994, in which they couldn’t figure out the @ symbol or needed an explanation of what the Internet was, BMW puts Couric and Gumbel inside it electric i3 and the reaction is just as gee-whiz.
http://youtu.be/U1jwWwJ-Mxc
DISNEY’S “TOMORROWLAND”
Disney released a 10-second teaser for the 30-second ad it will show for the George Clooney film during the Super Bowl. The teaser is followed by the full spot.
http://youtu.be/C1zSuujDTdY
http://youtu.be/ksax9gbhIhE
NATIONWIDE, with Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling’s attempt to kiss Matt Damon doesn’t go well in Nationwide’s Super Bowl spot. Turns out she’s not so invisible afterall.
http://youtu.be/Yrq8ruhmCX0
http://youtu.be/PdGQUCFvETg
PARAMOUNT’S “HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2”
The sequel, out Feb. 20, is getting a pricey push during the Big Game, with Paramount’s comedy also up against Universal’s “Jurassic World” and “Fast 7” as films that are competing for attention during the Super Bowl.
http://youtu.be/y5s3-K2B6fI
BUDWEISER
Budweiser’s “Lost Dog” spot is surely to gain a lot of traction for its cute factor.
http://youtu.be/xAsjRRMMg_Q
The company’s Clydesdales are also on watch in supermarkets to make sure shoppers don’t even consider buying a rival brand’s beer in this Super Bowl spot.
http://youtu.be/EIUSkKTUftU
BUD LIGHT
Bud Light built a Pac-Man board the size of a city block for its Super Bowl ad that debuted during “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” Last year, it hired Arnold Schwarzenegger to play ping pong.
http://youtu.be/g9A1NowrnGI
GODADDY.COM
GoDaddy’s regular pitch woman Danica Patrick returns for a scant half a second in the company’s Super Bowl spot which resorts to the cuteness of a puppy instead. Update: After public uproar erupted over the spot, it’s been pulled by GoDaddy, with the company saying, “What should have been a fun and funny ad clearly missed the mark and we will not air it,” CEO Blake Irving tweeted.
http://youtu.be/X2AHrCtOHqc
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
“Maleficent”-director Robert Stromberg is making his debut as a commercial helmer with Mercedes-Benz with a spot that will air during the fourth quarter and promote its AMG GT. Stromberg’s past work as an art director on “Alice in Wonderland” and “Avatar” is clearly evident in the German automaker’s take on Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare,” with its CG characters and fantasy setting. “We tend to think of fables as things of the past,” Stromberg said of the 60-second spot that took three months to produce and was lensed in Oregon. “It’s fascinating for me to render a classic tale with modern tools, yet keep the message timeless.”
http://youtu.be/LQvdIGeUUvo
http://youtu.be/NjfVp19Tu1M
DODGE
Goes dishes out some wisdom for its brand-based Super Bowl ad.
http://youtu.be/JKKlqMs19tU
LEXUS
Lexus became the first Super Bowl advertiser to offer up its ad — as far back as Jan. 13 — to promote the NX SUV.
http://youtu.be/OOex3JDJYF8
MOPHIE
The maker of cell phone chargers has gone all apocalyptic in its first Super Bowl spot to show how people react when their devices run out of juice.
http://youtu.be/LuVsf_hE7gM
VICTORIA’S SECRET
The lingerie brand offers up exactly what you would expect in its Super Bowl spot.
http://youtu.be/8lZgpaVpKQk
DOVE
Dove’s Men+Care brand is reaching out to modern men to challenge traditional stereotypes with its “Real Strength” spot. This is the extended cut.
http://youtu.be/QoqWo3SJ73c
ALWAYS
After gaining a massive audience online with over 54 million views, Always is airing a shortened version of its “Like a Girl” ad during the Super Bowl.
http://youtu.be/XjJQBjWYDTs
FIAT TAKES VIAGRA
Fiat takes the blue pill to promote its new crossover, the 500X.
http://youtu.be/YAcLViTHDOo
MICROSOFT
Microsoft touted its technology’s ability to empower consumers’ daily lives in its Super Bowl spot.
http://youtu.be/7cw4jmKQs0E?list=PLFPUGjQjckXGvDKcRLzjgbcc9RQSzXq30
