ClickZ's Super Bowl XLIX Ad Preview

The Super Bowl is right around the corner, so ClickZ is taking a peek at some of the ads from staples like Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola, as well as newcomers such as Skittles and NOMORE.org.

With the Super Bowl just days away, it seems all anyone can talk about – besides deflated footballs – is the commercials.

Viewers can expect to see ads from big game mainstays like Anheuser-Busch and Doritos, but there are also some rookies this year, such as German brand Loctite. The glue company allocated nearly its entire advertising budget to an expensive Super Bowl commercial, hoping to become a household name.

Other first-time advertisers include Skittles, whose commercial may involve arm-wrestling, given the teaser’s title, “It Will Be Settled,” and the massive right arms of those who appear therein; Ecuador, the first foreign country to advertise tourism during the Super Bowl; and website development company Wix, whose spot will depict NFL legends like Brett Favre and Terrell Owens jump-starting post-retirement small businesses.

But of all the first-time advertisers, NOMORE.org may be the stand out. The anti-domestic abuse organization’s spot shows footage of a house, messy after a fight, over a real recording of a woman calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza.

Weight Watchers and Carnival Corporation are newbies without teasers, though in the case of the cruise line, it’s because its ad hasn’t been decided yet. The Carnival Marketing Challenge is currently down to its final four candidates; voting is open to the public through Saturday.

Contests are a common theme this year. Doritos’ ad will be the winner of its annual Crash the Super Bowl campaign. GoDaddy also incorporated voting into its campaign, allowing viewers to choose NASCAR driver Danica Patrick’s co-star: a golden retriever puppy named Buddy. In the spot, after falling out of a pickup truck, Buddy finds his way home, where he is scooped up by his enthusiastic owner. “I’m so glad you made it home! Because I just sold you on this website I built with GoDaddy,” she says. However, the Internet domain registrar pulled the ad yesterday because people were angry about the animal cruelty featured in the spot.

The commercial was originally intended to be a parody of Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” ad from last year. The sequel, “Lost Dog,” will air during this year’s Super Bowl.

With three spots, totaling three-and-a-half minutes, Anheuser-Busch will be the most prominent brand featured at this year’s Super Bowl, with the exception of Pepsi, the sponsor of the halftime show.

Pepsi’s 30-second commercial will lead up to the show, in which Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz will perform. Perry announced her participation on Pepsi’s YouTube channel right before Thanksgiving.

Other big name brands featured include Coca-Cola, whose #MakeItHappy teasers focus on bringing positivity to the Internet; McDonald’s, whose ad will continue the fast-food giant’s revamp of its longtime “I’m lovin’ it” campaign; Microsoft, whose 60-second commercial will continue the empowerment theme from last year; Turbo Tax, in a continuation of the brand campaign kicked off earlier this month during the Rose Bowl; and T-Mobile, whose ad stars a self-deprecating Kim Kardashian talking about how you can use the phone provider’s data plan to look at more pictures of her.

T-Mobile isn’t the only brand leveraging star power. Pierce Brosnan will star in Kia’s ad, while BMW’s features Bryant Gumble and Katie Couric, who once famously had a conversation about the @ sign and called off-camera, “Allison, can you explain what Internet is?”

Twenty-one years later, the two news anchors sit in a BMWi3 and have a similar conversation about the electric car’s features. “Allison, can you explain what i3 is?” Couric says into her smartphone.

Toyota, Nissan, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz will also represent the automotive industry during the Super Bowl.

Mercedes-Benz’s commercial is a clever retelling of Aesop’s most famous fable, about the slow, determined tortoise beating the quicker, but cocky, hare in a race. On Sunday, the tortoise will defeat the hare by driving a Mercedes-Benz AMGGT.

Nissan’s yet-to-be-teased appearance is particularly notable, as 2015 marks the Japanese automaker’s first Super Bowl commercial in 18 years. Other brands returning from a hiatus include Dove Men+Care, whose ad has a dad theme similar to Lexus; Victoria’s Secret, whose angels play football; and Snickers, which Mars chose to highlight instead of M&M’s.

Danny Trejo, typically typecast as a manly villain, portrays Marcia Brady in the ad, highlighting Snickers’ “you’re not yourself when you’re hungry” message.

Wrapping up the Super Bowl won’t be a brand, but an in-house ad from NBC. Right after the referee blows the final whistle, Nick Offerman, one of the stars of Parks and Recreation, stars in a parody music video.

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