A Super Bowl Amuse Bouche

The social media spread before Sunday's main course.

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, the advertisements were advertising. And at $8M for a :30 second spot, they better be. The astronomical prices for half a minute of real estate eat up a healthy chunk of yearly advertising budgets, for some lesser known brands — so they’re going to milk it for all it’s worth, with precursory social content, brand experiences, giveaways, and my favorite — unexpected collaborations that color outside the lines. And while not all brands have the cash flow to dedicate most of their budget to one commercial airing featuring a smattering of celebrities, it’s the time of year where brands are bringing their A-game in the marketing department.

Side note: as much as I’ve enjoyed the lead-up, I can’t wait for the NFL-approved third party use of the phrase “the Big Game” to be retired for the next 10 months. The pre-Super Bowl roundup, below.

The Chill Face Roller by Coors Light

My friend sent a picture to our group chat the other day of herself ice rolling her face at the office (she works in PR, and this was a relatively unsurprising office activity). As an avid daily ice roller myself, I was 1) immediately jealous of the midday roll, and 2) intrigued by the icing apparatus. While I’m used to icing with the standard Amazon version, this appeared to be… a beer can?

Introducing the chill face roller by Coors Light. Now if you’re really deep in the ice roller game like me, this isn’t so farfetched. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve grabbed a Diet Coke (or even a frozen bottle of Tito’s… desperate times) to ice my face in a pinch. This feels like the perfect progression of the ice rolling skincare trend, and a genius way to attract a new, female-skewing audience to the beer brand — seamlessly building on CL’s previous slogan of “made to chill.” I don’t plan to crack open a can anytime soon, but I sure as hell wouldn’t say no to rolling one on my face.

CeraVe x Charli D’Amelio and Anthony Davis and…

A paparazzi-style shot of famed TikToker Charli D’Amelio leaving a dance rehearsal applying the equally famous moisturizing cream to her face (or scalp?), complete with a tub of it on a cross body strap? Not only that, but revealed by Instagram gossip account Deuxmoi with #ad in the caption? Hmm. Maybe she’s pointing out the obvious, or maybe she’s part of the marketing scheme and avoiding an FTC violation by subtly disclosing the partnership. Either way, I’m intrigued.

This wouldn’t be D’Amelio’s first time promoting the trusted skincare brand, so the partnership is a great fit. That said — I could do without the image of her walking around with her moisturizer-dipped fingers raw dogging the NYC air.

Upon further research (thank you, The Cut)… it appears the Charli x Deux x CeraVe post was not a one off, with NBAer Anthony Davis absolutely one-upping her with a literal tub of the moisturizer. I love a value pack or jumbo size, but is anyone else skeeved out by massive amounts of a product presented in this way (especially ones that resemble mayo? No just me?).

Davis’s partnership was also disclosed by a third-party IG source (@LeagueFits), who started the post with “AD” and ended it with #ceravepartner. Notably, no posts yet from Davis or D’Amelio themselves (although I imagine that will change by Monday a.m.). Is this the new frontier of influencer marketing?

NYX x DraftKings

In another effort to appeal to women, who have historically been ignored in most sports-related media… NYX has partnered up with DraftKings to offer free-to-play bets — not about scores at the end of each quarter, or the Gatorade color at the end of the game, but: PDA on the field? This makes sense, as NYX is perhaps best known for their affordable lippies.

The online-only campaign, called Big Fat Kiss (duh), is giving away $60,000 in prizes. Will be curious to see the impressions (and traceable sales) they get from this venture, especially compared to last year’s Super Bowl commercial featuring Cardi B.

Anyway, I’ll be partaking. And while we’re here, might I recommend their Fat Lip Oil — a direct response (and excellent dupe) to Dior’s pricey (but very good) lip glow oil.

PopUp Bagels x Cheez-It

In local news… “not famous but known” PopUp bagels, who is arguably famous and known in the city for their limited releases of butters and shmears, is also capitalizing on Big Game mania with their latest collaboration with Cheez-It. I am quite literally that one Brittany Broski meme while I go back and forth between being intrigued and disgusted. With two options — buffalo wing butter and original schmear (aka cheddar cream cheese), PopUp very smartly leaned in to one of the top Super Bowl foods. Naturally, only available from February 5th-11th. Stay tuned for a review (maybe).

And in staying on theme…

KFC x Mike’s Hot Honey

File this one under Collaborations That Just Make Sense. Admittedly, I’ve never had KFC (ok once, in Ireland, out of desperation, but does that even count?) — but as a Mike’s Hot Honey lover, I imagine this is a match made in heaven.

That said — and truly, stating the obvious here — can’t you just put Mike’s Hot on your nuggets or tenders of choice yourself? The answer is yes, but the collaboration has us talking about two brands I don’t typically think about, which they’d call a win. Might I suggest for next time, some limited-edition merch?

Speaking of fast food collabs…

Popeyes x Tequila Don Julio

Another one I haven’t eaten (no international footnote here), but I’m intrigued. The hero menu items are the Popeyes x Tequila Don Julio Reposado Flavored Concha Chicken Sandwich and Popeyes x Tequila Don Julio Reposado Flavored Louisiana Garlic 3-Piece Wings. Truly, a mouthful. I’m certainly no chef, but I imagine this falls under the category of beer-battered fish, or white wine in a seafood pasta dish (maybe that one’s a stretch).

This limited edition menu item was unveiled for a quick one day only stint on January 31st in 6 cities: New York (evidently, next door to my office), Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Kansas City. Huge missed opportunity for me to step outside of the office for lunch, but you’re not catching me in Times Square willingly on a Friday.

Okay, ONE more fast food mention, I promise…

Carl’s Jr. x Alix Earle

Iconic, especially for those of us who grew up worshipping Paris Hilton and remember her 2005 ad for the West Coast burger chain. This feels like the penultimate moment for the state of marketing and its influencer infiltration over the past few years. Who would’ve thought that a girl from New Jersey who got famous for vlogging her GRWMs in college would be paying homage to Paris Hilton in a national TV ad, even getting the go ahead from the brand to plug her own podcast? It’s not quite a rags to riches story, but it’s — for better or worse — some version of the internet age American Dream.

As the WSJ noted, the return of the burgers and bikinis ad style marks a change in culture, right on the heels of the change in presidential administration. But is it truly political, or just peak Y2K nostalgia? It’ll be interesting to see what other brands follow suit.

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That’s all for now! I hope everyone enjoys the Big Game (ewwwww), wins some money, and has their Coors ice roller in hand for Monday’s inevitable hangover.