Earlier this month, Deutsch brought back the Green Giant mascot with a pair of spots, one of which seemed to oddly sexualize the CGI giant via a leering woman staring at him bathing in a lake from a convertible parked next to his mammoth boots (imagine the odor).
With the reveal of Leo Burnett Toronto’s big game ad for Mr. Clean, it would seem that uncanny valley-inhabiting CGI characters are now a trend in advertising…
The spot opens on a woman frustrated with a food stain on her stovetop. Just as she seems to be begrudgingly ready to clean, though, a slow jam kicks on and Mr. Clean appears, sporting a trusty Magic Eraser. From there things get weird, with a series of suggestive dance moves accompanying all the cleaning. The spot concludes with a reveal and the tagline, “You gotta love a man who cleans.”
The Super Bowl spot is the latest in a brand revamp from Leo Burnett, including a rebooted version of the iconic Mr. Clean jingle in July. Later in the summer, the agency held auditions to be find “The Next Mr. Clean,” ignoring our suggestion to just hire Jordan Zimmerman and ultimately selecting Atlanta native Mike Jackson.
While the CGI version of the character will get the 30-second big game spot, according to a press release, Jackson will “be joining DeMarcus Ware, outside linebacker for the Denver Broncos, to support Mr. Clean as he makes his Super Bowl ad debut in Houston at the end of the month.”