Willem Dafoe, Catherine O’Hara Help Michelob Ultra With Super Bowl Kickoff
Michelob Ultra, the beer that likes to strike alliances with sports and athletes, will use Super Bowl LIX to get back into its game.
An advertising appearance during Fox’s February 9 broadcast of the Big Game will help the brand kick off a year of sports sponsorships that will likely include the Ryder Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the NBA Finals, says Ricardo Marques, senior vice president of marketing for Michelob Ultra.
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The Anheuser-Busch InBev beverage’s new Super Bowl spot will bring together Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara, who recently starred together in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” and will also include cameos
by NFL legend Randy Moss, Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser and WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu. In the 60-second spot, Dafoe and O’Hara take to the pickleball court and hustle their way to beat their rivals and win some Michelob Ultra.
“We were looking for characters that would be likable and friendly, but at the same time a little bit intense and dangerous,” says Marques. The ad, he says, recognizes that “friendly competition is best in it’s even more enjoyable when there are Ultras on the line.”
Anheuser-Busch InBev often changes the roster of brands it brings to the Big Game each year, but Michelob Ultra has remained in rotation for the past few years, a nod to consumers’ seeking out products that help maintain a healthier lifestyle. Executives at the company feel that there’s a chance to gain more growth for the brand, Marques says, as people focus on the calories and carbohydrates they ingest.
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