NFL's Own Big Game Ads: Super Bowl Babies Choir, Anti Domestic Violence & Game Trailer

The Super Bowl is the prime US playground for the biggest brand beasts and their agencies to show their creative commercial flair and this year sees the rights owner, the NFL, itself add its own flavour to the crucial and crazy world of Big Game advertising with its ‘Super Bowl Babies Choir’ spot.

The NFL is running a 60-second music video style ad during the game itself that features what the league claims is the ‘the biggest collection of Super Bowl Babies: fans born in winning cities approximately nine months after the game’.

It is a nod and a wink to the fun Mom and Dad had after the game ended, the league has brought singer Seal and a set of team-baby-choirs together to rework his ‘Kiss To A Rose’ classic track.

It is considerably more eclectic in approach and light-hearted in tone than its more typical big game promo spot – which it began airing on 29 January.

The ‘Panthers vs Broncos Super Bowl’ trailer takes a more usual approach to the game itself by focusing on the battle of the number one draft picks and opposing quarterbacks.

This spot promotes not just the main CBS big game broadcast, but also the NFL YouTube channel, the league’s fantasy football offering, plus its podcasts etc.

The NFL’s third Super Bowl spot is the centrepiece’s of the league’s relevant cause-led ad activation.

The league is under serious pressure following how it reacted to a string of recent player domestic violence cases, so it has donated Super Bowl airtime and production costs for an anti-domestic violence public service announcement by No More.

This 30-second ‘Text Talk’ ad, created by NFL agency Grey New York will run in the third quarter of the game on behalf of No More, an organization formed in 2013 to combat domestic violence and sexual assault.

The narrative features a text conversation between friends in which a woman is questioned about her well-being and ends ominously with a thought bubble icon that suggests something drastic has happened.

The add encourages viewers to ‘TEXT “NO MORE” TO 94543’ to opt into a text program and receive ‘action-oriented messages educating them on common signs of abuse and steps they can take to help victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault’.

This follows a similar approach last year when the NFL and No More ran an ad which saw a women covertly calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza.

The ad is further supported across the digital and social space.

We have an ad airing during #SB50! Share to spread the msg: We can all help end domestic violence & sexual assault.https://t.co/4wnzgVU6ar

— NO MORE Campaign (@NOMOREorg) February 4, 2016

Comment

Not only will the NFL’s in-game Super Bowl spot lead to a few slightly awkward conversations between parents and kids born in mid October, but this might even be the firsty year in which the rights owner itself sits atop some of the Super Bowl ad measurement tables.

Could the NFL possibly win the best commercial of Super Bowl 50?

We wouldn’t bet on it.

Links:

NFL YouTube:

https://goo.gl/VmTK0M

NFL Website:

http://www.nfl.com/

NFL Now:

https://www.nfl.com/now

NFL Game Pass:

https://www.nfl.com/gamepass

NFL Podcasts:

http://www.nfl.com/podcasts

Fantasy Football:

http://www.nfl.com/fantasyfootball

NFL Network:

http://nflnonline.nfl.com/

NFL Mobile App:

https://www.nfl.com/apps

NFL Schedule: