Have you seen the TV commercial for skincare brand CeraVe? The one that ran during the 2024 Super Bowl last Sunday? The one that starred actor Michael Cera?
Well, It’s brilliant. Of all the TV spots that ran during Super Bowl LVIII it’s our favorite. It’s funny, well-produced, clever. But what makes it even more interesting and amusing is all the stealthy marketing efforts that went on behind the scenes in the weeks leading up the debut airing of the commercial.
Using influencers, media, paparazzi and some low-key PR shenanigans, social media was abuzz with speculation and rumor linking Michael Cera to the brand CeraVe, citing his last name as evidence of his personal business connection to the skincare brand company itself. It was a false, intentionally seeded connection. It got people talking, speculating and wondering if it was true for a month ahead of the Super Bowl broadcast, making the TV commercial a delicious, surprise pay-off. Nobody saw it coming.
Given that the 2024 Super Bowl garnered the largest viewing audience in television history, this was incredible exposure for the brand. Whether it was worth the price tag of U.S. $7 million for a 30-second TV spot during the game’s broadcast (not to mention the costs of producing the commercial and its larger campaign) is yet to be seen.
The NFL Super Bowl is by its very nature a cultural phenomenon of superlatives. It’s in the name itself. The event transcends the sport. And this year everything was over-the-top: A game that went into overtime play, high-key marketing and hype, the increasingly grander, more elaborate, more spectacularly epic half-time show concert performance by Usher, and, of course, the high-profile TV commercials. All these seemed to have reached an all-time peak. CeraVe picked the right year to spend that $7 million, y’all.
Full marks to CeraVe and whoever came up with the idea at their advertising agency!
GLOBAL GRAPHICA 