The Avengers Effect: Why One Celebrity Isn't Enough for Many Super Bowl Advertisers

If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's their love of celebrity. And in a year when tone is proving to be one of the hardest and riskiest aspects of advertising on the Super Bowl stage, brands have chosen to lean on VIP spokespeople even more than usual. Over the past ten years, according to research at Villanova University, a little over a third of all Super Bowl ads have included a celebrity cameo or role. As of yesterday, 19 of the 33 already-released ads for Super Bowl 2021 featured at least one celebrity—well over half. And while we won't know how the entirety of 2021's ads compares until they've all aired this evening, another trend has emerged in many of the spots that are already public: Brands are piling up on the stars—including as many as seven celebrities in a single spot. Playing it safe with fan favorites "This is a riskier year for big advertisers," Charles R. Taylor, professor of marketing at Villanova University, told Adweek. "So we're seeing a lot of familiar music and familiar celebrities." Leaning on celebrities is one way that brands are grappling with the complicated task of achieving the right tone in a Super Bowl year that's already proven to be politically divisive, and with the constant backdrop of a deadly pandemic. The roster of celebs that star in this year's ads follow some of the other big trends of the 2021 Big Game—humor and nostalgia. There are a lot of comedians (including many alums of Saturday Night Live), and several A-listers whose claims to fame lie in simpler times. (Expect to see faces from classic sitcoms like Seinfeld and That 70's Show.) But for over a half-dozen brands so far, another strategy has been to pack as many famous faces into a single ad as possible. First-time Super Bowl advertiser Scotts Miracle-Gro, for example, fit seven celebrities into its 45-second spot: Martha Stewart, John Travolta and his daughter, Ella, Nascar driver Kyle Busch, actor and former pro footballer Carl Weathers, The Office’s Leslie David Baker and fitness instructor Emma Lovewell. While no other brands have topped that many, four other ads star three or more celebrities—and that's not counting the Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer spot, which stars eight celebrity lookalikes; Klarna's, where Maya Rudolph has multiplied into four tiny cowboys; or Bud Light's, which brings back dozens of the stars from old Bud Light ads. In all these cases, though, brands seem to have concluded that this year required more than just one friendly face to carry their message. Go big or don't go Among the brands who are advertising in the Super Bowl this year, many were those that directly benefitted from the pandemic economy. That's especially true of first-time advertisers, who hope to use the Big Game stage to solidify their brand awareness among the 100 million viewers. "In some cases, there has been more of a willingness to go bigger than before," said Doug Shabelman, CEO of Burns Entertainment, a company that connects brands with A-list talent. Given all the cancellations and postponements of 2020, some brands found themselves with a little extra money in their ad budget when it came time to make Super Bowl plans, Shabelman added. And shooting commercials has also changed in ways that can save some money in some cases. Fewer people on set and more remote shoots can allow for cheaper production, he said, meaning more money for talent. "Most of the time celebrities are used, it's really to garner attention. A lot of times there's a message with it, and humor, or it's just entertainment," Shabelman said. "It really seems that this year is more about using celebrities just to purely entertain." The risk of prioritizing entertainment over purpose Using celebrities as pure entertainment comes at a risk, though, according to Taylor. While it might be tempting to just inject your brand message with a likable actor or musician and hope consumers start associating the two, he said it's important to ensure that the celebrity has an authentic connection to the brand. The classic example Taylor gave is recruiting a star basketball player to help sell basketball shoes—there's no doubt as to whether they know what they're talking about. It gets fuzzier in other cases. General Motors' 2021 Super Bowl ad about electric vehicles stars a hysterical group of comedians and actors in Will Ferrell, Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson, but none of them have any known expertise about the product. "What does Will Ferrell know about electric vehicles?" asked Taylor. "I just don't think that fits there. The literature shows, the endorser is supposed to have expertise." With a more lighthearted brand, though, it's a little easier to seamlessly weave in some famous funny people. Cheetos, for example, is playing on both the entertainment and nostalgia factor by hiring Shaggy and Ashton Kutcher to sing a safe-for-work version of the rapper's 2000 hit single It Wasn't Me. (The ad is ultimately focused on Mila Kunis, though, and it was definitely her.) "It tells a story about Cheetos: They're so good that you might sneak them and hide it from your partner," Taylor said. "It all goes back to the celebrity reinforcing the positioning of the brand." For all the latest Super Bowl advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2021 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories about the Big Game. And join us on the evening of Feb. 7 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials anywhere.