Super Bowl Commercials 2017: Budweiser, Wendy’s, Yellow Tail, and More

For casual and non-football fans outside of New England and Atlanta, Super Bowl LI is all about two things: eating snacks and watching how brands will entertain the masses with their zany commercials. In the past, there have been classics such as the Coca-Cola employee who had a secret love for Pepsi, the Make 7 Up Yours guy, and those Budweiser-drinking lunatics who couldn’t stop shouting “wazzup?” (The latter is burned into the memories of ‘90s kids, as their fathers used the line to answer the door and telephone for years after the 1999 debut.) There should be some surprises on February 5, but a few food and beverage companies have already leaked their marketing campaigns ahead of Super Sunday.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev is taking a serious tone for its Budweiser ad this year, shining a light on the difficult path immigrants face in America. The Super Bowl commercial tells the story of Adolphus Busch’s journey from Germany to St. Louis.

Wendy’s has never made a Super Bowl ad, but the square-burger purveyor is jumping in the game this year. The 30-second spot, with Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” as the soundtrack, takes a shot at frozen beef patties often used by other fast-food chains. The chain has even set up a website for a fake company called Othr Guyz LLC., which supposedly produces multi-use “freezy discs.”

Australian wine company Yellow Tail has a lighthearted ad featuring a kangaroo in various party scenarios: engaged in small talk, working the grill, hanging out on the beach, and spinning records in a DJ booth. That’s one well-rounded kangaroo.

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Mars Inc. will air the first live Super Bowl commercial to hawk its Snickers candy bar, according to the Wall Street Journal. The ad will star Adam Driver of Girls and Star Wars fame playing “a very hungry cowboy.”

Buffalo Wild Wings has enlisted the services of Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Favre will be controlled by a mysterious and seemingly menacing force in what looks to be one of the more bizarre commercials this year.

Saturday Night Live alum John Lovitz will return to the silver screen to shill for Avocados From Mexico. No matter the script, this ad will surely inspire some mean tweets from President Donald Trump.

Mars Inc. will continue its campaign of weird Skittles commercials during this year’s Super Bowl.

Heinz will use its ad time to lobby for a post-Super Bowl national holiday dubbed “Smunday.” The ketchup maker promises to send a petition to Congress if it can get at least 100,000 signatures in support of the holiday.

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