Publicis Seattle, T-Mobile Bring Drake to the Super Bowl

T-Mobile unveiled its Super Bowl ad from Publicis Seattle today, which stars former Degrassi actor Drake.

The spot shows Drake working with carrier representatives, who request he makes some changes to his mega-popular song “Hotline Bling” from his upcoming album. “I love changes,” Drake cheerily chimes, taking no issue with adding lines like “device eligible for upgrade after 24 months” and “streaming music will incur data charges.” Publicis Seattle mines the already tired “Hotline Bling” meme to make a point about typical cellphone carriers who “ruin everything” before imploring viewers to “Switch to the Un-Carrier.” The message fits with T-Mobile’s typical pitch, but the decision to mine a meme which we’d guess most people are already tired of (Drake released the song at the end of July) is questionable and the humor definitely falls flat. The ad is the first of two which T-Mobile will have in the big game, so hopefully the next effort from Publicis Seattle raises the bar.