Bruce Springsteen delivered a plea for unity in America as he joined the A-listers appearing in star-filled Super Bowl adverts.
The US TV event of the year was expected to attract about 100 million viewers and advertisers flocked to fill the many commercial breaks during the NFL’s showpiece game.
A 30-second slot reportedly cost about 5.5 million dollars (£4 million).
The Middle. pic.twitter.com/dbsgWV35i0
— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) February 8, 2021
In his first-ever advert, Springsteen fronted a film for Jeep and echoed a message he shared during the presidential election.
The clip was filmed in the city of Lebanon, Kansas, the geographical midpoint of the contiguous US, with venerated rocker Springsteen, 71, “in search of common ground”.
In a monologue broadcast during the fourth quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, he said: “Now, fear has never been the best of who we are. And as for freedom, it’s not the property of just the fortunate few. It belongs to us all.
“Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, it’s what connects us and we need that connection. We need the middle.
“We just have to remember the very soil we stand on is common ground.”
Elsewhere, the Super Bowl adverts struck a more light-hearted tone.
Here’s a first look at my Alexa big game ad. #AlexasNewBody #BigGame #Ad pic.twitter.com/UIhGZaDGnA
— Michael B. Jordan (@michaelb4jordan) February 2, 2021
Michael B Jordan – who holds the title of People magazine’s sexiest man alive – plugged Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa, appearing as a sensual human version.
The actor flaunted his famously sculpted physique and slipped into a bath alongside a lucky Alexa owner, much to the frustration of her partner.
Husband and wife Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis teamed up with reggae singer Shaggy and used his 2000 song It Wasn’t Me for an ad promoting Cheetos cheese snacks.
It featured Kutcher quizzing Kunis over eating his Cheetos, only for the actress to reply “wasn’t me”.
Mila and Ashton? Shaggy?? Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix???? ya gotta watch to see what's going down! 🔥 #ItWasntMe #SBLV pic.twitter.com/oDjDDwp0kS
— Chester Cheetah (@ChesterCheetah) February 8, 2021
Insurance giant State Farm brought out the big guns for its advert. Rap superstar Drake appeared as a back-up for Jake, the company’s usual mascot, while actor Paul Rudd stood in for NFL player Patrick Mahomes.
A cardboard cut-out of Matthew McConaughey promoted Doritos 3D crisps, eating the snack to return to his usual self.
The search for dimension is over. Doritos 3D are back and #FlatMatthew is…. 👀 #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/0Jh1lWFGl7
— Doritos (@Doritos) February 2, 2021
Timothee Chalamet transformed into Edward Scissorhands’ son, Edgar, starring in a Cadillac advert alongside Winona Ryder, who reprised her role as Kim from the 1990 film.
John Travolta and his daughter Ella recreated his famous dance from Grease for fertilizer brand Miracle-Gro while Amy Schumer sprouted wings for Hellmann’s mayonnaise.
Will Ferrell, Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson promoted car maker General Motors and Gwen Stefani poked fun at her romance with country singer Blake Shelton for a T-Mobile ad also featuring Maroon 5’s Adam Levine.
Dolly Parton repurposed her 1980 hit 9 To 5 for an advert for website builder Squarespace.
Set in an office – just like the film the original track accompanied – it featured workers dancing in celebration at using the website to run their own businesses.