BY KURT SCHLOSSER on
The most important part of Sunday’s Super Bowl is already watchable as advertising for a variety of companies and products has hit the internet ahead of the big game.
Tech is once again well represented, although a few big names which have stolen the show in years past are not present for Super Bowl LV. There’s nothing from Microsoft, which focused on its Xbox Adaptive Controller in a memorable 2019 spot, and nothing from Google, which had a tear-jerker last year, and nothing from Facebook, which leaned on Chris Rock and Rocky in its first-ever ad.
More big brands such as Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Hyundai, GoDaddy and others are opting out as striking the right tone during difficult times was deemed too tricky.
Amazon is left to lead the pack — tech and otherwise. It’s got a steamy ad featuring actor Michael B. Jordan as one woman’s fantasy for what Alexa should look like in human form. On YouTube’s Adblitz the spot has 77 million views, putting it ahead of spots for food, beer, cars and more.
The remainder of the tech bunch is pretty middle of the road, with offerings from Uber Eats, Indeed, DoorDash and even Robinhood, the stock-trading app embroiled in the whole GameStop / Reddit / meme stocks / Wall Street mess.
Check out some of the contenders for Super Bowl (commercial) glory before they show up on televisions Sunday:
Amazon Prime Video
Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and about 100 other recognizable stars show up in this Amazon Prime Video film trailer for “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to the 1988 comedy. Murphy stars as the king of Zamunda, and travels from Africa to New York to connect with a son he didn’t know he had. With theaters closed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon bought the rights from Paramount and will stream the movie exclusively starting March 5.
Amazon Alexa
What if an Echo smart speaker actually looked like Michael B. Jordan, the “Black Panther” actor who lights up the internet whenever he takes his shirt off? This ad tackles that question and puts Jordan through the voice-assistant paces at the hands of a daydreaming Amazon employee. “Alexa, dim the lights.” Whoa. Read more.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile apparently had three ads planned for Sunday, but this one got “banned” by the NFL, according to the Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless carrier. The ad featuring Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski failing to connect on a bad video chat connection may have ruffled the feathers of competitor and league sponsor Verizon. The spot has 27 million views on YouTube. Read more.
T-Mobile’s two ads which did air during the game featured Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton in one — dealing with another spotty connection, and Anthony Anderson and his mama, Doris, in another.