Companies with deep pockets looking to make a splash could do a lot worse than spending some of their fortune on a Super Bowl ad. Over the years, lots of previously-obscure outfits have worked their way into the public consciousness via clever, creative and at times outrageous spots featured during the year’s biggest sporting and television viewing event.
Wix.com has entered the Super Bowl ad fray before, running their “It’s That Easy” clip in 2015. That spot starred football legends Brett Favre, Terrell Owens, Franco Harris and Emmett Smith and made enough of an impression to find its way onto some lists of the best Super Bowl ads ever. Now Wix is enlisting some non-sports-heroes to help them once again make an impression during the big game.
In the action-packed clip featured on the Wix.com YouTube page, Wonder Woman‘s Gal Gadot (out of her uncomfortable Wonder Woman costume) and perennial action hero Jason Statham (not battling sharks this time) pretty much play generic versions of their own on-screen selves, all dressed up for a night at a fancy restaurant. Things descend into total chaos as Gadot and Statham get into a battle with some random bad guys while the chef continues cooking away back in the kitchen, his headphones blocking the sounds of the action. Things end explosively when Statham for some reason decides to light up a torch.
xqAfter his entire establishment goes up in flames, the restaurant owner of course decides he needs a new website. The clip is filled with action and comedy and has a couple of big stars, so it doesn’t actually have to make any sense. As Super Bowl ads go, this one is actually pretty straight-forward. The important thing is that Gadot and Statham both look amazing as they’re kicking all kinds of butt.
With 30 seconds of Super Bowl ad time reportedly costing a minimum of $5 million this year, companies like Wix.com are going to have to dig very deep to get a slot during the game. If you’re going to spend that much money just to get an ad on the air, might as well go all the way with it and spend a bunch more money on a pair of big-name stars and some elaborate special effects.
Whether ads like this are actually effective in selling whatever the company is trying to sell is of course the big question. In the case of Wix and other less-well-known companies, the main thing is selling the brand name, while maybe giving some indication of what the company’s actual business is. Fans of Gadot and Statham aren’t going to care what the reasons are, they’ll just be happy to see their favorite stars doing what they do best. Movie fans can also look forward to some awesome trailers dropping during the game just like last year.