Featuring: Justin Bieber and Rob Gronkowski.
Game: Super Bowl LI. Celebrity
Paycheck: $2.25 million.
Total Price Tag: $10 million.
Both celebrity members of this ad got paid big, but Bieber got the bigger paycheck – almost two million dollars bigger. For just a few seconds of dancing around on-screen, it’s still pretty good money, even for Gronk.
In this T-Mobile ad, Gronk dressed up as a caveman and partied with a bunch of other actors, which might explain why he didn’t get paid as much. It’s probably something he wouldn’t mind doing for free.
Jaguar: “British Villains' Rendezvous” (2014)
Featuring: Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Strong.
Game: Super Bowl XLVIII.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
It's no secret posh Brits are seen as villainous, though nobody can really explain why. This ad for the British luxury car company Jaguar attempted to explain it, with the help of three famous British actors: Tom Hiddleston, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Mark Strong.
Featuring some stunning shots of classy cars, and a couple of cool characters in suits, this ad proved to be memorable for all the right reasons, with a good dash of humor and good brand awareness thrown in.
American Express: “Drag Racing Minibike” (1990)
Featuring: Paul Newman.
Game: Super Bowl XXIV.
Celebrity Paycheck: $500,000.
Total Price Tag: $1.9 million.
There's nothing like an old guy on a tiny vehicle. This ad, featuring famous actor Paul Newman, is somehow about American Express, which is everywhere you want to be, including on a mini bike racing against an actual drag racer. The drag racer blows up...or...something. This allows Newman to reach the finish line first.
Newman is well-known for his car collection and racing fun, and this ad really does grab your attention. What does it have to do with American Express? Your guess is as good as ours.
Acura: “Transactions” (2012)
Featuring: Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno.
Game: Super Bowl XLVI. Celebrity
Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
Jerry Seinfeld wants that new Acura. He wants it so bad. He wants it bad enough to be the first one to ever own it, which means the person at the top of the list, a random guy, is going to get the Jerry Seinfeld treatment. Seinfeld offers a new boat, a look at an alien, the Soup Nazi, and much more, all to get that first Acura.
At the very end, Seinfeld finally gets the car, thanks to a private zipline network...at least, until Jay Leno swoops in with a jetpack-powered squirrel suit.
Toyota: “Joy Ride” (2014)
Featuring: Terry Crews and the Muppets.
Game: Super Bowl XLVIII.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
Everyone's favorite muscleman Terry Crews is a mild-mannered executive until he finds the Muppets broken down on the side of the road and gives them a lift. Thirty seconds later, Crews has torn off his shirt, partied at Carnivale, and done it all in the spacious and comfortable Toyota Highlander.
In the end, he explains what happened to his neighbor, Kermit, who shakes his head in confusion. This Super Bowl ad has one of the highest “likeability scores” of a celebrity ad ever, at a little over 750. We know that means nothing.