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When Pringles began thinking about its plan for the Super Bowl this year, something stood out.
Across social media, users were posting about seeing things that resembled the chip brand’s mustached mascot, Mr. P: Their relatives, clouds in the sky, and shapes in their coffee, explained Kellogg’s appropriately titled VP of global salty snacks, Mauricio Jenkins.
It was out of those posts that this year’s Pringles Super Bowl ad was born.
For its seventh consecutive Super Bowl appearance, the potato-chip maker recruited mustachioed actor Chris Pratt to star as himself in a 30-second spot, in which he goes viral for his uncanny (excuse the pun) resemblance to Mr. P. The spot will air at the end of the first quarter, Jenkins told Marketing Brew.
In addition to the game, the ad will also air on Univision, which is broadcasting the Super Bowl in Spanish, and it will be promoted organically on social platforms, including the brand’s YouTube channels.
It might seem obvious, but Pringles is activating at the big game because it is a time when people get together and snack, Jenkins said. Sales for Pringles tend to spike leading up to and during the Super Bowl, he told Marketing Brew, and Pringles is one of several snack brands that have opted to advertise in this year’s game.
“It is one of the most important moments for the salty snacks category as a whole,” he said. “The other piece for us is, it’s such a big cultural moment.”
It takes a village: Grey New York served as the creative agency for the campaign, with Weber Shandwick handling PR and a paid social push, including working with Snap to create an AR-supported Mr. P filter. Agency Haygarth is handling an in-store and omnichannel push for the campaign, while Publicis’s Starcom is working on paid media.
Can I get an autograph? Pringles’s work with Pratt follows other big game ads it’s done with celebrities to boost its brand. Last year, its ad featured singer Meghan Trainor in a 30-second spot, and in previous years it has worked with other stars like Bill Hader.
Yum: Pringles isn’t the only snack brand activating at the Super Bowl. Oreo, Hellmann’s, Drumstick, and Nerds are among the others that will air spots.