Sprint's Comically Grim Super Bowl Ad Might Have the Best Line of the Night

It's a pretty well-known fact that cell phone contracts are notoriously difficult to get out of. So difficult, in fact, that it can lead people to do some pretty extreme things. Take the guy in Sprint's Super Bowl ad, titled "Car." He is willing to mentally scar his two children, after dragging them to a remote cliff on a dreary day, by pushing his car off the aforementioned cliff all in the name of getting out of his Verizon contract. Sprint's in-game ad is a 30-second spot that will run in the second quarter, but the brand also released an extended cut that will run after the game is over. "Car" marks Droga5's first creative work for Sprint after the agency won the account from Deutsch in November without pitching. [kickout id="1"] The spot opens with a dummy version of the dad, glasses askew, in the family's car. As the real dad nudges the car over the edge of the cliff and watches it crash down into a pile of rocks, he chuckles to himself and delivers perhaps the most hilariously dark line ever. "Well kids, daddy's dead," he says to his poor, emotionally scarred children. The ad is filled with clever and funny moments like that one, and that's just what the brand and Droga5 are hoping to capture. "We're excited to share our first work for Sprint in the Super Bowl. It's a humorous, Big-Gamey twist on the campaign Sprint is currently running. We wanted to capture the helplessness of being trapped in a cycle of insane fees, and let Verizon customers know Sprint is the right option," Matt Ian, Droga5 executive creative director, said in a statement. Some of the highlights in the ad include a cameo from former Verizon pitchman turned Sprint spokesperson Paul Marcarelli, who made the switch to Sprint in June 2016. He arrives on the scene, apparently out of nowhere, equipped with a handy set of hiking sticks, making his cameo even more absurd and comical. There's a line from the shocked son asking his dad if faking one's own death to get out of a contract is illegal, while the fine print on the screen reads, "Yes, extremely illegal." It's all pretty great. The brand even alluded to how its ad would play out when CEO Marcelo Claure tweeted last week that Sprint would return to Super Bowl LI with a "real cliffhanger" of an ad. Get it? Cliff hanger! "Sprint understands frustrated Verizon customers and so many consumers face paying too much for their wireless bills and Sprint is here to help. There is no need for extreme measures ... consumers can just switch to Sprint and get 50 percent off most current AT&T and Verizon rate plan prices all on Sprint's award-winning reliable network," Roger Solé, Sprint CMO, said in a statement. CREDITS Agency: Droga5 NY Creative Chairman & Founder: David Droga Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer Executive Creative Director: Matt Ian Creative Director: Todd Rone Parker Creative Director: Daniel Kelly Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale Production Development Director: Lucia Grillo Co-heads of Broadcast Production: Jesse Brihn, Bryan Litman Executive Producer: Ross Plummer Associate Broadcast Producer: Caroline Vassiliades Associate Director, Business Affairs: Librado Sanchez Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer Head of Digital Strategy: George Bennett Group Strategy Director: Meghann Mackenzie Group Comms Strategy Director: Chanelle Flavell Strategy Director: Kevin DeStefan Group Account Director: Blake Crosbie Account Director: Kelly Harrington Account Manager: Tori Pierce Group Project Manager: Mark Lester Client: Sprint CEO: Marcelo Claure CMO: Roger Solé VP of Brand, Advertising & Social: Tracy Palmer Director of Advertising: Stacey Shupert Advertising Manager: Tahryn Nicastro Audio/Video Editor: Ignacio Galarza Photographer: Steve Gibson Production Company: Smuggler Director: Randy Krallman DOP: Darren Lew Executive Producers: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody, Shannon Jones Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Colon Line Producer: Ian Blain Editorial: Mackcut Editor: Gavin Cutler Editorial Producer: Gina Pagano Assistant Editor: Pamela Petruski Post Production: The Mill Executive Producer: Zu Al-Kadiri Senior Producer: Colin Blaney Lead Flame: Chris Sonia Sound: Sound Lounge Mixer: Seth Phillips

Super Bowl Commercials

Sprint's Comically Grim Super Bowl Ad Might Have the Best Line of the Night

Dark humor from Droga5

Katie Richards

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Katie Richards