Featuring: Isaiah Mustafa.
Game: Super Bowl XLIV.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
It isn’t usual for an ad to make someone famous, but this Old Spice ad shot Isaiah Mustafa to star-status thanks to clever writing, a unique directorial style – the ad is one long shot – and unexpected sights.
The campaign continued, adding in Terry Crews to bump up the muscle and energy, while Mustafa keeps things cool and smooth. He’s the man your man could smell like, and he’s on a horse.
Mountain Dew Zero Sugar: “As Good as the Original” (2020)
Featuring: Bryan Cranston, Tracee Ellis Ross.
Game: Super Bowl LIV.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
In a pastiche to the classic horror film "The Shining", Bryan Cranston limps through a hotel tracking down Ross, spouting the benefits of the new Mountain Dew Zero Sugar. When he bursts through the bathroom door Ross is startled but accepts the new drink.
In the end, a wave of the soft drink comes cascading out of the elevator, and if you've seen the movie you know what these references. It's a weird ad, but weird is sometimes good.
Squarespace: “Make it With Keanu Reeves” (2018)
Featuring: Keanu Reeves.
Game: Super Bowl XLIX.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
This ad features Keanu Reeves looking cool because he obviously does. John Wick had opened Reeves's career back up after some time out of the spotlight, and he wants you to know how easy it is to make a website with Squarespace.
Anything you can imagine is within you, Reeves says as he surfs a motorcycle. He sings along with a Will Powers song about believing in yourself and then guns it down the road. Take us with you, Keanu.
Clash of Clans: Revenge's “On My List” (2015)
Featuring: Liam Neeson.
Game: Super Bowl XLIX.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
When “Clash of Clans: Revenge” player (and famous actor) Liam Neeson gets punked in his favorite mobile game, he begins monologuing exactly how he will ruin the other player's life, taking notes from his famous monologue from "Taken".
He's standing in the middle of a shop waiting for his coffee, and when the barista mispronounces his name, he gets a pretty hot stink-eye from Neeson as well. AngryNeeson52 then launches his counter-attack on his hapless gaming opponent.
Taco Bell: “Taco Bell Rocks” (2010)
Featuring: Charles Barkley.
Game: Super Bowl XLIV.
Celebrity Paycheck: Unknown.
Total Price Tag: Unknown.
Charles Barkley goes around composing a Dr. Seuss-style poem to his favorite Tex-Mex fast food, yet we never see him take a bite. The odd visuals include cheerleader angels, crooked basketball hoops, frenzied paparazzi, and Lamar Odom, who similarly never takes a bite.
Barkley was a great player and is an always-entertaining commentator, but this ad was a big miss for Barkley and the Bell, neither of which look back on the experience all that fondly. Taco Bell moved on quickly, but not before burning a big pile of cash to create this ad.