Which Super Bowl sponsor activations stood out from LVIII taking place on the 11th February 2024 in Las Vegas
While all the marketing ‘talk’, as always, is focused on which brands are taking out half-time ads (at a reported $7m for 30 seconds), caytoo has focused purely on interesting activations that the NFL’s sponsors have undertaken.
While few single-game events match the Super Bowl’s hype and scale, the activations provide inspirational ideas that any rights holder can learn from to potentially use/adapt in their pitches to potential sponsors to bring their opportunity to life.
Note, click on each image to find out more about the activation.
Doritos x Luxor Hotel pyramid
The chip or crisp brand (depending on what side of the Atlantic you’re on) undertook a huge advertising wrap on one side (about 30 storeys high) of the Luxor Hotel’s pyramid structure on the Las Vegas Strip.
The pyramid perfectly illustrates the unique triangular nature of Doritos themselves. It’s the favourite of our Super Bowl sponsor activations due to the simplicity and brilliance of the idea. It’s also likely to attract extensive eyeballs during aerial TV shots of the city during the build-up and game broadcasts.
The ‘Pepsi Dig In’
In 2020, PepsiCo created ‘Pepsi Dig In’, an initiative to support Black-owned restaurants and the community behind them.
In the three days leading up to the Super Bowl, Pepsi Dig In brought top chefs and a celebrity mixologist to feature their signature flavours at an ‘MVP’ (in American Football parlance, the Most Valuable Player) brunch event at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano hotel – right across from the stadium. Diners get exclusive access to meet and mix it up with the Pepsi Dig In chefs and the mixologist.
An excellent ‘Social Impact’-related activation well-coordinated and fitting with an annual mass media sporting event.
Marriott’s Super Bowl Sleepover Contest
What was once a one-off has now become an annual ‘tentpole’ activation. Marriott runs a “Super Bowl Sleepover Contest” in which two fans get the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience to spend the night in a stadium hosting the Super Bowl.
Courtesy of Marriott’s Courtyard Hotels brand (the NFL’s official hotel), a corporate suite at the stadium is converted into a hotel room overlooking the playing field for the night.
It’s the culmination of an ongoing suite (pun intended) of activations that Marriott/Courtyard run throughout the year to involve their brand in the passion points of NFL fans including NFL-themed Courtyard Fan Rooms for different teams.
P&G’s Battle of the Paddles
P&G’s Battle of the Paddles is a table tennis tournament designed to fuse two things – its Official Locker Room Products of the NFL (Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Old Spice and Tide) with the league’s unofficial locker room sport, table tennis.
Eight of the NFL’s best table tennis elite compete to become crowned as the unofficial best table tennis player in the NFL. They will promote the individual products as part of their event preparation and participation.
The event is streamed live on YouTube, while retailer Lowe’s will offer special pricing deals on P&G’s Official Locker Room products.
It’s a terrific activation associating multiple brands through a unique insight into a different side of the players.
Toyota’s 4 Down Territory
Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL, warrants inclusion simply due to the sheer range of activations they’re undertaking to really amplify their partnership.
Our favourite element comes from their lead sponsorship of the “Super Bowl Experience presented by Toyota,” an immersive fan festival / football theme park. Within this, Toyota is hosting its own fan game, “Toyota’s 4 Down Territory,” which challenges competitors to navigate past 58,000 footballs to gain a chance at a ‘legendary prize’ that will unlock VIP access to next year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans
Nickelodeon x SpongeBob’s first-ever alternate telecast
Although not a sponsorship – it’s a broadcast partnership – this warrants inclusion due to a variety of great activations designed to attract younger viewers.
Nickelodeon and CBS Sports are producing the first-ever alternate telecast for the Super Bowl on the kids’ channel, which features eye-popping graphics including slime-filled end zones and SpongeBob SquarePants between the goalposts on field-goal attempts.
Promotions and activations for this first-time telecast include a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed Super Bowl experience in Roblox. The fun-filled world will include activites and quests such as SpongeBob Simulator, a Super NFL Tycoon, TMNT Battle Tycoon, Twilight Daycare, and Easy Obby.
FanDuel’s Kick of Destiny 2
The NFL’s Official Sports Betting Partner is launching the second iteration of its “Kick of Destiny” activation in which former star player Ron Gronkowski will attempt to score a field goal just before the game’s kick-off.
It follows the huge success of the first campaign (which was purely a TV ad) but this time it’s in front of a live audience. FanDuel is also adding a new interactive element, offering customers the chance to make a free pick on the app as to whether he will make or miss it; eligible customers who pick correctly will win an equal share of $10 million in bonus bets.
A great way to generate brand awareness (live TV and viral) as well as encouraging sign-ups to the app, with a 50% chance of sharing in the prize.
Tost by Tostitos
In a similar vein to Pepsi, Tostitos (the official ‘chip and dip’ of the NFL) is running a free, limited-time, immersive dining experience, “Tost by Tostitos” – a Las Vegas-inspired culinary journey with three different dining menus designed by Frito-Lay’s culinary team. Crucially, Tostitos is giving fans nationwide the opportunity through a social media promotion to have their meal prepared and served by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, where he dons a chef’s hat as he tries his hand at tableside service, Vegas style.
A great example of promoting a higher quality brand perception of a product as well as offering a ‘money-can’t-buy’ opportunity to consumers.
Snickers Rookie Mistake AR Experience
Mars claims this is their “most innovative Super Bowl activation yet.” – the SNICKERS Rookie Mistake AR Experience.
Fans who own an Apple Vision Pro headset can step into the virtual experience, which is tied to the brand’s wider Rookie Mistake campaign. Using the headset’s AR technology, fans will be able to practice kicking field goals or glean wisdom on their rookie mistakes from the all-knowing football oracle, “misfortune teller” T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mars says they’ve done it because “Fans are hungry for new AR and VR experiences and we are able to redefine audience engagement.”
Pepsi’s Big Game Vault
A second entry for Pepsi, who created a “larger-than-life” Pepsi Big Game Vault on the strip.
Although it will be a destination for fans to win prizes throughout game weekend, the centrepiece is the Pepsi Sip City Secrets – a first-of-its-kind ‘confessional’ for football fans to anonymously make their weekend secrets (such as skipping a family event to attend the game) disappear with star player Puka Nacua of the LA Rams.
Each fan who shares a secret will receive a code for the chance to unlock various prizes.
It’s a clever activation, unique among the Super Bowl sponsor activations in that it plays on a key theme of Las Vegas itself: its Sin City moniker and ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’
Verizon Live
Like Toyota, the NFL’s official 5G Network, Verizon, is undertaking an array of activities.
However, the ‘centrepiece’ is a series of three customer-only events (‘Verizon Live’) on consecutive days at Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club on the Strip. Each of which promotes one of its main content partnerships – Netflix, Max and Apple Music who will each own/run the event. The aim is to underscore the cellular provider’s value offering beyond its basic phone service and “focus on the unique value we can bring to Verizon customers in the market.”
It’s a very clever way to stand out from a very crowded week-long build-up to reinforce a particular capability while offering important exclusive opportunities for customers.
TCL’s Big Screen Blitz
TCL is the official TV partner of the NFL. Although this is probably the least innovative or exciting of the 12 Super Bowl sponsor activations, we like it because it’s a reminder that the ultimate goal of sponsorship, like any form of marketing, is to sell product.
TCL is using its association with the ‘Big Game’ as a straightforward hook/link to encourage people to buy its big screen models and playing into the associated idea of the ‘man cave’.
The brand is clever in it plays on the idea of ‘bringing you that stadium experience at home’, particularly as for many Americans the Super Bowl is the most desirable sporting event to attend. So, if any event is going to make them buy a bigger TV to get a closer to an event, this is the one.
If you like these type of insights, why not check out our January 2024 sponsorship deals analysis containing our 15 picks of the month.
