Snickers released its “Happy Birthday” teaser for BBDO New York’s Super Bowl ad for the brand in late January, serving as a kind of prequel to the “Marilyn” big game ad that followed, starring Willem Dafoe as a hungry Marilyn Monroe. But the story doesn’t end there.
While “Marilyn” ended with a cameo from Eugene Levy as a fan-operating stagehand, BBDO New York continues the narrative from there with “Still Down Here,” with Levy taking center stage in the 15-second sequel. Levy’s character, it would be appear, gets forgotten by the crew while still operating the fan under the subway grate. “Union’s gonna hear about this,” says the displeased stagehand, when he realizes everyone has left the set. It’s a nice addendum, providing a more satisfying conclusion to the narrative of the big game ad than Levy’s short cameo in the original spot. It’s almost a shame they couldn’t have worked it into “Marilyn” somehow, cutting time elsewhere for the superior ending. The broadcast spot debuted last night during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, an unusual move for a Super Bowl advertiser.
“You wouldn’t have Hollywood history without the fan guy,” Levy said in a statement. “It was an honor to portray one of Tinsel Town’s forgotten heroes. Marilyn Monroe might’ve been looking down at him, but every guy in America was looking up to that stage hand.”