Super Bowl XLVI: Ads of 2012 - SPOILER ALERT - UPDATED 1/31

Just one of the many ads airing in Super Bowl 2012

SEE THE LATEST SPOILER HERE: https://adland.tv/super-bowl-xlvi-ads-2012-spoiler-alert-updated-21

The closer we get to Super Bowl XLVI, the more we find out about the commercials we'll see in the big game that brands paid $3.5 million per 30 second spot. We've updated them yet again. I'm sure we'll give you 1-2 more updates as we lead up to Sunday's game.

NOTE: If you want to be surprised, don't go any farther. And, don't say we didn't warn you.

1ST QUARTER

UPDATED! 1/29
Anheuser-Busch: Bud Light Platinum One of two :30 spots for Bud Light Platinum ends with #MakeItPlatinum. Expect less frat-boy humor and a “more stylish, serious tone” that promotes “triple-filtered, smooth finish, top-shelf taste.”
Created by: Translation led by Steve Stoute and Jay-Z.

UPDATED! 1/30
Hyundai Veloster Turbo: One of the two spots will feature a race between the Veloster Turbo and a cheetah, but the cheetah decides the car is too fast and its handler would make for an easier snack. The other spot tells the story of young man is driving with his much older colleague on a business trip as the older guy is telling the young man the secret to success, but has an "attack" before he can get it out, to which the young guy shows off the car's ability to handle low-end torque in forward and reverse to shake the older guy back to normal. Actor Jeff Bridges does the voiceover. (NOTE: A 60-second pre-game spot right before kickoff for the Sonata features real employees at its Montgomery, AL plant in an absurd elaboration of Hyundai's "If at first you don't succeed..." and features the workers singing the theme from "Rocky".)
Created by: Innocean Worldwide Americas

M&Ms: The 30-second spot introduces Ms. Brown, the new character in its line of animated spokescandies. Will Ms. Green and her engage in a cat fight? Who knows. She is described as “Ms. Brown is an intelligent woman with a sharp wit who finally decided to reveal herself after working for decades behind the scenes as “chief chocolate officer.”
Created by: BBDO

UPDATED! 1/26
Coca-Cola: The polar bears are coming as part of the "Open Happiness" campaign. The first spot is called “Superstition” is a 30-second animated ad showing one of the bears watching the game with his fingers, toes, arms, legs and even his scarf crossed. The bears will be featured on the website throughout the game. As they sit on their "snowfa" in an Arctic cave, they will react to plays on the field, referees' calls and even commercials. At the same time, viewers can send tweets and emails to the bears with questions and comments, getting the bears responses at www.CokePolarBowl.com. (NOTE: Post-game ad on ESPN will show one of 2 creative versions. The bear whose team lost screams “argh” and is consoled with a Coke the drive viewers to YouTube.)
Created by: Wieden + Kennedy
Related Video: It’s On:

Party Guests:

UPDATED! 1/29
Anheuser-Busch: Bud Light Platinum One of two :30 spots for Bud Light Platinum ends with #MakeItPlatinum. Expect less frat-boy humor and a “more stylish, serious tone” that promotes “triple-filtered, smooth finish, top-shelf taste.”
Created by: Translation led by Steve Stoute and Jay-Z.

2ND QUARTER

Bridgestone: One of two 30-second spots which will include Troy Aikman lending his hand to ads that explore fictional scenarios where Bridgestone tires help change the world of sports. View all the teasers on the brand’s youtube channel and one below.
Created by: Richards Group

UPDATED! 1/31
H&M: A 30-second ad will promote a new line of David Beckham Bodywear underwear, with the soccer star sporting nothing but his knickers. The spot ends with #beckhamforhm, an obvious attempt to have people who are talking about the spot online use this.
Created by: In-house

UPDATED! 1/26
Sketchers: A bulldog named “Mr. Quigley” who races grayhounds and Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks) will promote the new GoRun shoe line in this 30-second spot.
Created by: In-house

UPDATED! 1/29
Anheuser-Busch: Budweiser A :60 takes a nostalgic play as the Budweiser Clydesdales deliver the first cases of beer at the end of Prohibition.
Created by: Anomaly

UPDATED! 1/26
Coca-Cola: A 60-second, "The Catch" has two versions. The bear cheering for the team that is losing at the time the commercial airs -- assuming the game is not tied at the time -- will make a gravity-defying catch of a flying bottle of Coke. The bears will be featured on the website throughout the game. As they sit on their "snowfa" in an Arctic cave, they will react to plays on the field, referees' calls and even commercials. At the same time, viewers can send tweets and emails to the bears with questions and comments, getting the bears responses at www.CokePolarBowl.com.
Created by: Wieden + Kennedy

UPDATED! 1/29
Anheuser-Busch: Bud Light A :30 ad that features a Shazam app inviting viewers to download a song. AB wont’ name the song or artist but says the ad will have “star power”.
Created by: Cannonball

1ST HALF

Lexus: The 30-second spot will tout its 2013 GS and talk about products to come this year. This is the brand’s first time in the game. You can view a 15-second teaser on the brand’s youtube channel and below. There is also a social media lead-up campaign called TweetDrive Engineered by Lexus that has run during the playoffs in which players can earn yardage and move a virtual team down the field to score a touchdown by answering trivia questions using #LexusTweetDrive for a chance to win a trip for two to an NBC Sports event.
Created by: Team One and Attik

UPDATED! 1/29
GoDaddy.com: A 30-second spot called "The Cloud" featuring Danica Patrick and a rebirth of the group Pussycat Dolls.
Created by: In-house
Watch "The Cloud":

3RD QUARTER

UPDATED! 1/26
Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt: 30-second spot starring John Stamos, which will include a “massive social media and public relations campaign”. This will be the first time for the brand to appear in the Super Bowl Ad lineup. You can watch the making of video here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/making-of-dannon-super-bowl-ad-with-john-stamos-300/2012/01/26/gIQAlgBTTQ_video.html
Created by Poptent with advice of AOR Y&R New York. The winning submission was from Remy Neymarc, 21 from New Jersey.

UPDATED! 1/26
Century 21: 30-second spot starring Donald Trump, Deion Sanders and Apolo Ohno, which will “demonstrate that Century 21 agents are “Smarter. Bolder. Faster.” This will be the first time for the brand to appear in the Super Bowl Ad lineup.
Created by Red Tettemer & Parters in Philadelphia

UPDATED! 1/29
Anheuser-Busch: Budweiser Another :60 for the brand continues the story in the earlier :60 and follows people enjoying Buds throughout history, including the end of Wold War II and USA 1980 Olympic hockey victory.
Created by: Anomaly

UPDATED! 1/31
Volkswagen: We’ll see a 60-second spot for the 2012 Beetle featuring an overweight dog who gets in shape by chasing the new Beetle, among other things. The end of the spot features Star Wars characters--including Snaggletooth--in the cantina debating if last year's Vader ad or this year's dog ad is better. How meta of them. Two weeks ago, VW started pumping a teaser campaign on its site and on Youtube featuring a dog choir rendition of the theme song as Dabitch pointed out: https://adland.tv/star-wars-bark-dogs-get-ready-superbowl-xlvi

Created by: Deutsch Los Angeles
Extended Teaser:

UPDATED! 1/26
E*Trade: Yes, the baby is back for the 5th year running. The spot “will depict the character interacting with people for whom an important life event--the birth of a child--spurs them to think about investing. From The NY Times: The change in the fifth year of the campaign is ment to “take the baby to the next level,” said Nick Utton, chief marketing officer at E8Trade Financial. “It’s critically important to keep the baby fresh and engaging.”
Created by: Grey New York
This spot didn’t make it, so we’ll see what does:

UPDATED! 1/30
Honda Acura: A :60-second spot called "Transactions" will feature Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno. This will be Acura’s first showing in a Super Bowl.
Created by: RPA and Arcade Edit
Watch the extended version:

UPDATED! 1/29
Cars.com: A 30-second spot a car shopper’s inner confidence is unleashed from his neck and shoulder in the form of a Disco-singing head. Viewers who use Shazam to tag the ad will earn $1 for one of seven charities for kids.
Created by: DDB Chicago

Bridgestone: One of two 30-second spots which will include Troy Aikman lending his hand to ads that explore fictional scenarios where Bridgestone tires help change the world of sports. View the teasers on the brand’s youtube channel.
Created by: Richards Group

UPDATED! 1/30
Toyota Camry: "Reinvented" is a :30 spot that plays on potential reinventions, such as a couch, police officer, and a baby that doesn't poop and is ALSO a time machine. Viewers will be encouraged to tweet with the #Reinvented hashtag about what they’d like to see reinvented and selected tweets will be responded to in real-time with a creative depiction of their idea.
Created by: Saatchi & Saatchi LA

FOURTH QUARTER

UPDATED! 1/30
Hyundai Veloster Turbo: One of the two spots will feature a race between the Veloster Turbo and a cheetah, but the cheetah decides the car is too fast and its handler would make for an easier snack. The other spot tells the story of young man is driving with his much older colleague on a business trip as the older guy is telling the young man the secret to success, but has an "attack" before he can get it out, to which the young guy shows off the car's ability to handle low-end torque in forward and reverse to shake the older guy back to normal. Actor Jeff Bridges does the voiceover. (NOTE: A 60-second pre-game spot right before kickoff for the Sonata features real employees at its Montgomery, AL plant in an absurd elaboration of Hyundai's "If at first you don't succeed..." and features the workers singing the theme from "Rocky".)
Created by: Innocean Worldwide Americas

UPDATED! 1/30
Honda CR-V: The 60-second spot features Ferris Bueller and is centered on the “leap lists” of ambitious life goals compiled by twenty- and thirtysomethings. The commercial will be released 10-14 days before the game.
Created by: RPA
Watch the extended version of the ad:

Ferris Bueller’s Teaser:

2nd Story Software/TaxACT: A 30-second spot called "Feel the Free" promotes the software that allows people to prepare their federal taxes for free.
Created by: J.W. Morton and Associates and Mechaniks
Watch the teaser:

UPDATED! 1/29
Anheuser-Busch: Bud Light A :60 spot featuring a scrawny resuce dog named “Weego” who responds to his name when he hears “Here Weego” (*groan*) and fetches Bud Lights from the fridge. The spot end with a push to facbeook.com/BudLight to help raise money for the Animal Rescue Foundation.
Created by: McGarryBowen

UPDATED! 1/29
GM/Chevrolet: A spot teasing the 2013 Cadillac ATS at the two minute warning is called “Green Hell” and shows the car going around the Nurburgring test-drive circut.
Created by: Goodby, Silverstein and Partners
Sneak Peek:

SECOND HALF

UPDATED! 1/29
GoDaddy.com: A 30-second ad called "Body Paint" features Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels covering Colombian model Natalia Velez with body paint to tout the company’s “.co” domain names.
Created by: In-house
Watch “Body Paint”:

UNKNOWN AIRTIME

UPDATED! 1/26
Audi: "Vampire Party" is a 60-second ad to promote Audi LED headlights.
Created by: Venables, Bell & Partners
Watch the ad:

Best Buy: A 30-second spot rumored to be around mobile phones.
Created by: Crispin Porter & Bogusky

CareerBuilder: A 30-second spot that follows a guy going on a business trip with two chimpanzees. Yes, they’re back. Oh joy. < sarcasm >
Created by: In-house

GM/Chevrolet: A consumer-generated 60-second spot, “Chevy Happy Grad”, will air created by a 26-year-old aspiring filmmaker from Long Island, NY. His film shows a new high school graduate who mistakenly thinks his parents gave him a new Camaro only to have a neighbor drive off in it. (DIGITAL NOTE: Chevy has been running a TV spot promoting a Chevy Game Time app that will be used to “engage fans during the game and the day after with trivia questions and prizes” as well as driving them to the Route 66 site to watch ads.)
Created by: Zach Borst. Goodby Silverstein and Partners is lead US agency for Chevrolet.
See the ad:

UPDATED! 1/29
GM/Chevrolet: A :30 includes an open letter from GM’s CEO and touts the car’s virtues as a community builder and symbol of American know-how. (NOTE: a lighter ad will air post-game featuring aliens that show up at a guy’s garage at night to steal the car’s technology.)
Created by: Goodby, Silverstein and Partners

UPDATED! 1/29
GM/Chevrolet: Chevy Silverado: Nothing more is known at the moment. Created by: Goodby, Silverstein and Partners

UPDATED! 1/29
GM/Chevrolet: Chevy Sonic: The ad is a mosaic of video assets from the brand’s digital campaign aimed at younger consumers and shows extreme stunts Chevy did with the car (use it to play music, have it bungee-jump, and jump out of an airplane, etc). Music by “Ok Go” who also appears in the spot. (Note: an additional post-game spot will features bugs jumping on the grille of the car to get a joy ride.)
Created by: Goodby, Silverstein and Partners

UPDATED! 1/26
Chrysler A :60 possibly for the Fiat 500 Abarth based on a “possible Super Bowl” spot they have posted on their Youtube page called “Seduction”. Thankfully J-Lo isn’t in it.
Created by: Unknown

UPDATED! 1/29
Doritos: Latest news is that 2 30-second spots will air. Both will be winners of the now ubiquitous “Crash the Super Bowl” UGC spot. A The Lonely Island-created spot was set to air, but now Doritos have said that the winners of the 2 ads will get the chance to work with them in a future endeavor as part of prizing. The five Crash the Super Bowl finalist ads (in alphabetical order) are:
• “Bird of Prey” by Joby Harris. A guy takes on the mannerisms of a large bird constantly in search of Doritos, much to the delight of co-workers who egg him on: https://youtu.be/OLgrcqWRlow
• “Dog Park” by Tyler Dixon. A dog won’t learn new tricks until his owner tempts him with a Dorito, which then sends other dog owners into a feeding frenzy: https://youtu.be/tR5gZrCb13g
• “Hot Wild Girls” by Brad Scott. A re-do of the current State Farm commercials in which people verbally summon their agents and other goodies (a hot tub, the girl from 4E). Here, a guy has a “magic” cell phone via which he summons up bags of Doritios. His friend’s bad accent, however, calls up Rottweilers instead of “hot wild girls.” The HWGs actually make a cameo appearance at the end: https://youtu.be/cdiVs9bhkbc
• “Man’s Best Friend” by Jonathan Friedman. A man sees his dog burying in the back yard the name tag of the family’s missing cat. The dog successfully buys the man’s silence with bags of Doritos: https://youtu.be/y3bqbJduK2w
• “Sling Baby” by Kevin T. Willson. A kid in a tree house teases his baby brother with a bag of Doritos. Grandma, who is babysitting the pair, uses her motorized wheel chair to turn the toddler’s elastic harness into a bungee cord, enabling him to take revenge on his older sibling: https://youtu.be/4GIeIpcRv7o
“Created by”: Goodby Silverstein and Partners

FedEx: Rumored to have a spot airing. Nothing more is known.
Created by: BBDO is agency of record.

UPDATED! 1/31
Hulu: A :30 with Will Arnett is all that is currently known.
Created by: MDC Partners' Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Teaser:

UPDATED! 1/26
Kia Optima Limited: “Drive the Dream” is a 60-second spot that brings us into the dream of a guy who we find driving an Optima around a track filled with male fantasies includeing Adriana Lima scantily clad, mixed martial arts fighter Chuck Liddell set to Mötley Crüe onstage singing “Kickstart My Heart” (who knew that those guys were still relevant).
Created by: David & Goliath
Watch the teaser:

History Channel: A 30-second spot will promote the channel’s show, “Swamp People”.
Created by: In-house

UPDATED! 1/29
Met Life: No information is currently available.
Created by: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

UPDATED! 1/30
PepsiCo: Pepsi A :60 ad features Melanie Amaro, the winner of Fox’s “X Factor” singing a contemporary version of "Respect" for Si Elton John who plays a "king of rock" in the ad which is set in a rock-fantasy version of medieval times. Pepsi fans who "Shazam" the spot during the big game will be able to view Amaro's music video for the song. The press release from Pepsi states, "the commercial ends with a twist and the tagline, "Where there's Pepsi, There's Music"."
See a Behind-The-Scenes Video:

UPDATED! 1/30
PepsiCo: Pepsi MAX A :30 or :60 will feature Regis Philbin.

UPDATED! 1/26
Priceline: After 14 years, William Shatner will be replaced by a new spokesperson on Super Bowl Sunday.
Created by: Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners
Good Bye Shatner:

Samsung: More rumors flying here. Dabitch posted about this earlier last week which could continue their trashing of Apple fan boys and girls.
Created by: Unknown

UPDATED! 1/26
Telaflora: A 30-second spot featuring Adriana Lima pimping flowers for Valentine’s Day.
Created by: Unknown
Teaser/Behind The Scenes:

LOCAL ADS

UPDATED! 1/26
American Suzuki Motor Corporation - “Sled”: A 30-second spot will air in 21 markets highlighting the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi sport sedan.

Created by: Siltanen & Partners Advertising

UPDATED! 1/26
FirstBank:
In the bank’s first Super Bowl ad, they’ll be encouraging viewers use the commercial break to pee. As ad people, we all know that’s what the game is for. The ad will only air in Colorado during Q3 and Q4.
Created by: TDA Boulder

As more news breaks we’ll update this listing. And if you hear anything, leave it in the comments.

Forbes has a nice write up of why brands find value in advertising in the Super Bowl and the do’s and don’t’s to follow: https://www.forbes.com/sites/keithlevy/2012/01/19/despite-super-price-tag-super-bowl-xlvi-advertising-time-still-super-valuable

Mashable also put together an infographic showing what types of Super Bowl ads get shared the most: https://8.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Superbowl-ads-infographic-917.jpg

Also, check out this fun list of Super Bowl ad factoids and impress your friends and co-workers around the watercooler: https://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/20/4202331/super-ads-the-super-bowl-is-a.html

Don’t forget, you’ll find us here on Super Bowl Sunday tweeting live and you’ll find all the commercials right here during and after the game in Adland’s Super Bowl Archive with 40 years of ads.

Adland® is supported by your donations alone. You can help us out by buying us a Ko-Fi coffee.
Anonymous Adgrunt's picture
comment_node_story
Files must be less than 5 MB.
Allowed file types: jpg jpeg gif png wav avi mpeg mpg mov rm flv wmv 3gp mp4 m4v.