Objective #1 for a Super Bowl ad is to get everyone’s attention in a very noisy environment. BBDO New York has nailed this aim with Puppymonkeybaby for Mtn Dew Kickstart and You’re Not You Marilyn Monroe for Snickers. The creature, Puppymonkeybaby, is both bizarre and determined to be as intrusive as possible in his scene. Marilyn Monroe’s hungry self, Willem Dafoe, is jarringly crabby – and the ad has a real Marilyn cameo.
Objective #2 is to sell the brand’s promise. Puppymonkeybaby represents Kickstarts “three awesome things together”. Awesome is debatable, but the idea is strong. No one is ever going to argue that You’re Not You ads do not sell Snickers’ promise.
So perhaps it doesn’t matter if neither ad wins the Super Bowl popularity contest.
The funniest parts of BBDO New York’s Super Bowl ad, Puppymonkeybaby, for Mtn Dew Kickstart are the YouTube viewer comments. To be fair, there are positive comments too – they’re just not funny.
The Puppymonkeybaby is an in joke. It’s the composite of three of the most commonly used creative devices in Super Bowl spots. It is also the metaphor for Mtn Dew’s “three awesome things combined” – Mtn Dew, fruit juice and caffeine.
Perhaps both the metaphor and the product are awesome if you’re 19 years of age.
The ad is Mtn Dew’s first Super Bowl commercial for 16 years. Parent, Pepsico, has though run Mtn Dew Kickstart commercials in Super Bowl pre-game shows since the brand launched in 2013.
The Super Bowl ad coincides with the launch of four new flavours: Midnight Grape, Watermelon, Blueberry Pomegranate And Blood Orange.
On the website, visitors are able to create their own creatures by combining three awesome things, which the brand turns into a gif for sharing on social media.
Mountain Dew Kickstart is marketed as a healthier way to start the day than a traditional energy drink, soda, coffee, or tea. The new Blueberry Pomegranate Kickstarter, for example, promotes its antioxidants and vitamins C and E.
Last year’s Snickers Brady Bunch Super Bowl commercial won the inaugural Super Clio Award, for outstanding Super Bowl commercials. That’s a tough act to follow.
This year, BBDO New York has turned Willem Dafoe into the hungry version of Marilyn Monroe, who’s shooting the New York subway grate scene from The Seven Year Itch.
Canadian actor, Eugene Levy (the only actor to play in all eight American Pie films), adds a tailpiece spark to the formula ad with his line, “this scene will never make the cut.”
Snickers brand director, Allison Miazga-Bedrick, commented, “Super Bowl 50 is a celebration of this game’s amazing history, so we wanted to bring our A-game with a new You’re Not You When You’re Hungry commercial that’s appropriately epic. It doesn’t get much bigger—or better—than combining one of the most legendary moments in movie history from the iconic Marilyn Monroe with some modern day icons of our own.”
