If advertising during the 2022 Super Bowl LVI is defined by a wave of crypto advertising (RIP FTX), the advertising that airs during the upcoming Super Bowl LVII is shaped to be defined by the culture wars. , with a candy ad seemingly responding to conservative cable TV news segments and commercials for alcohol-free beer, sugar-free soda and the problem of food waste all being exploited.
For fear that the Big Game is getting too light, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) will also pay shillings for a snack and Serena Williams and Brian Cox sell beer, so the classics will be well represented. .
On Monday, M&M’s announced that it will “indefinitely suspend” its long-running “speaker” and will instead announce a new one: Maya Rudolph.
The decision came after online commenters (as well as Fox News host Tucker Carlson) took issue with recent changes to candy characters. As it happens, this year’s Super Bowl will air on the Fox television network.
“We’re not sure if anyone noticed. And we certainly don’t think it will disrupt the internet,” the candy brand wrote in a press release. “But now we get it – even the shoes of a candy can be polarized. That’s the last thing M&M wants because we all want to bring people together.”
Of course, this entire installment is in preparation for a Super Bowl commercial, which will air during the game’s first quarter and will feature Rudolph. Whether the brand leans towards the culture war or pursues a different strategy remains to be seen. As for the future of speakers, remember that Peanut’s untimely death before the Planters Super Bowl commercial in 2020 was short-lived.
But fictional talking candy isn’t the only ad that might grab the internet’s attention this year. In a day associated with indulgence (alcohol, lots and lots of unhealthy food), some campaigns seem set to be restrained.
Hence Paul Rudd’s Ant Man down a can of alcohol-free Heineken before saving the world (a joint campaign between Disney and the Dutch beer giant) or Pepsi promoting sugar-free soft drinks at the start of a big new campaign.
Frito-Lay, the company that makes the majority of products in your supermarket snack aisle, is leaning toward one of its healthiest options: PopCorners, chips made from popcorn. The company hired Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul to come back Breaking Bad the characters of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman for the position.
Even a mayonnaise company will turn to environmentalism, with Hellmann’s launching a new part of its “Taste, no waste” campaign.
Of course, it’s still the Super Bowl, so this year’s match will still have a lot of familiar faces and brands.
So far Kevin Bacon has committed to a Budweiser commercial, while Serena Williams and Brian Cox are starring in one. Caddyshack parody for Michelob Ultra.
With the Big Game still 3 weeks away, there’s plenty of room for more surprises. And if the brand wants to blow some hype, perhaps igniting the outrage machine might just be the ticket.
After all, no one talked about the shoes that M&M cartoons wore, until Carlson devoted a whole segment to the topic. An alcoholic or sugar-free beverage, mayonnaise that cares more about the environment than bread or a healthy snack could be the next outrage.
