Advertisers pay up to $8 million for a 30-second Super Bowl area

American brand names go back to tradition, star and cheer

OpenAI and Perplexity take advantage of the Super Bowl to promote AI

By Dawn Chmielewski

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev is reviving its renowned workhorse Clydesdales for a Super Bowl ad that the developing company states celebrates the "grit and determination" of the American spirit.

The Budweiser commercial marks a go back to custom, after a dreadful social media promotion for its Bud Light brand name in 2023 featuring transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, triggered require a boycott.

"We ´ re certainly seeing Budweiser play it safe this year," said Charles R. Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova ´ s School of Business and author of a book about Super Bowl advertisements. "Everybody enjoys the Clydesdales."

The go back to safe, familiar and sentimental ground represents a trend amongst some marketers for this year ´ s Super Bowl LIX, a rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans. Brands are expected to lean on humor, star and warm references to America ´ s heartland, reflective of the cultural zeitgeist.

For the very first time, OpenAI and Perplexity will look for to profit from the greatest telecasted event of the year, bringing expert system into the homes of countless Americans.

"We ´ re all in this great, pleased location, and want to be entertained," said Gartner analyst Nicole Denman Greene. "So, to place your brand name because minute of fandom ... you have to deliver creative that is resonant with that audience."

Super Bowl advertisers are flashing major star power, with an estimated two-thirds of the commercials including celebs.

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reenact their famous deli scene from the 1989 romantic funny "When Harry Met Sally," in a commercial for Hellmann ´ s mayonnaise that also includes a short look from "Euphoria ´ s "Sydney Sweeney. Willem Dafoe and Catherine O ´ Hara double-up on the pickleball court to hustle challengers out of their Michelob Ultra beers. Eugene Levy, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Post Malone, Vin Diesel and botdb.win Kermit the Frog likewise appear in the 30-second areas.

OpenAI, the business behind ChatGPT, is expected to air its first commercial during the Super Bowl, the race for artificial intelligence supremacy to America ´ s bars and living spaces. Meanwhile Perplexity AI is hosting a Super Bowl sweepstakes that provides a $1 million prize for asking questions throughout the video game.

Greene said AI companies are taking on the Super Bowl ´ s reach to resolve customer anxiety about the fast-evolving technology.

"All of the ads I've seen-- and I can't wait to see all of the creative-- it's more about making people see how they can be more productive, and how their lives could be better," said Greene. "I do not know if that's going to eliminate the worry, because, as individuals discover more about the capabilities, we're seeing in the data, that they get less certain."

This year ´ s game will have fewer car commercials than in previous years. Stellantis is the only car manufacturer to announce a Super Bowl advertisement, in which star Glen Powell provides a humorously macho twist on the familiar "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" fairy tale.

Ads hawking beers and snacks return. They will share screen time with newbie endeavor capital-backed Liquid Death, the canned water brand that bought its very first Big Game ad to promote its Killer Cola and Cherry Obituary.

Up until now, the most popular Super Bowl advertisement is the winner of Doritos ´ "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, depicting an alien abduction.

"It ´ s off the scale on amusing, on curiosity," said Sean Muller, founder and president of TV marketing measurement firm iSpot.TV. "People enjoy the advertisement." (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; editing by Ken Li and Diane Craft)