Snickers releases 4 Super Bowl LI teaser ads & says official spot will be filmed live

Snickers is coming back to the Super Bowl this year with a campaign featuring actor Adam Driver. This will be the brand’s sixth appearance — and third consecutive year — as a Super Bowl advertiser.

The brand dropped four teaser ads (January 30, 2017), all pointing to Driver as the star of its campaign without the “Star Wars” actor actually appearing in the spots. Three of the teaser ads include a cutout of Driver, and the fourth names him as the campaign’s star.

Snickers says its official 30-second Super Bowl commercial with Driver will be filmed live during the game.

Developed by BBDO New York, the campaign includes the teaser ads, the official game-day ad and live-streaming content that will being airing noon February 2 on SnickersLive.com (which currently links to the brand’s YouTube channel) and Snickers’ Facebook page.

“The actual ad is only part of the equation — we’re also going to support our 30-second live ad with over 30 hours of original content that we’ll stream live leading up to the Super Bowl,” says Snickers brand director Allison Miazga-Bedrick.

The brand says its 36-hour live stream will be filmed from the set of its official commercial and will include a “variety of content” with appearances from celebrities and social influencers.

While an announcement from Snickers claims the brand will be making history as the first Super Bowl advertiser to air a live Super Bowl commercial, AdAge reported (January 30, 2017) that Schlitz Beer was the first Super Bowl advertiser to film a live spot, during the 1981 Super Bowl. The beer brand aired a live ad during the ’81 game between the Oakland Raiders and the Philadelphia Eagles with retired NFL referee Tommy Bell conducting a taste test between Schlitz Beer and Michelob.

Snickers may not be making history, but its campaign isn’t a total loss with Kylo Ren involved (even if he’s not in character). For now, here are the four teaser ads Snickers dropped (January 30, 2017):

The brand says it will continue to stream live content after the game on its social pages and the SnickersLive.com site it is launching for the campaign.

Snickers isn’t the only brand jumping on the live-video bandwagon this year. Hyundai is airing a 90-second spot that will be filmed live during the first commercial break immediately following the game. The spot is being billed as a documentary and will be shot by actor and director Peter Berg.

You can follow Marketing Land’s complete list of Super Bowl LI brands, including campaign details, teaser ads and official ads, at: Super Bowl LI advertisers: Here are the brands gearing up for game day.

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Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.