German beer brand, the Anheuser-Busch-owned Michelob Ultra, has called-in some serious A-list clout for its Super Bowl offering this year.
The football-themed work sees arguably the greatest soccer/football player of all time, Lionel Messi, teamed with Ted Lasso actor and producer Jason Sudeikis and NFL hall of famer, Dan Marino.
Michelob clearly had deep pockets for this one. Celebs aside, the spot is the work of Wieden+Kennedy New York and was directed by famed Swedish director, Adam Berg.
These generic, global brand ads can often come over quite vanilla and naff; however, this time the agency has clearly cottoned on to the marketing genius that beer and a hot day at the beach offers. And that’s not discounting the silky smooth skills of Lionel.
And despite the matey patois at the bar, it’s important to note that the Argentinian megastar doesn’t actually speak English!
Also, promoting soccer during a gridiron match is also an interesting approach. Messi, of course, currently plays for US team Inter Miami CF on a reported $US60 million ($A91 million) a season and this ad will do no harm lifting his profile in the States.
Football/soccer is “approaching, I believe, what is a golden era in the US,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president of marketing for Michelob Ultra,
“There is a bigger play for us as a brand in the space of soccer and we could not make that happen without having the GOAT himself be a part of that story.” He also sees the Super Bowl ad serving as “a great kickoff” to a year that will include the Paris Olympics.”
Watch Messi and co below:
