Best Buy Co. has enlisted actress and comedian Amy Poehler to get its brand message across in a humor-focused spot during the Super Bowl XLVII.
The Minneapolis-based electronics chain said Wednesday it will air a 30-second spot featuring Poehler, fresh off from her gig co-hosting the Golden Globes earlier this month, in the first quarter of the big game, which airs Feb. 3 on CBS. Bryan Buckley of Hungry Man directed the :30 for agency CP+B.
The ad will convey a branding message and comes as the electronics retailer works on a turnaround plan to combat tough competition from online retailers and discounters. The spot will be supported by a social media component, and a second ad will air after the game detailing several special offers.
A Best Buy executive said Poehler’s frank humor dovetails with Best Buy’s marketing message.
“Because of the complexity of technology today, folks have lots of questions,” said Scott Durchslag, president of online and global e-commerce. “Amy is this comedic everyperson who can make things simple. And Best Buy is trying to accomplish the same thing — making technology simple.”
Celebrities are a popular way companies try to ensure that their ads stand out during the Super Bowl, advertising’s largest showcase. Thirty-second ads cost around $4 million and last year, but that hefty price tag brings lots of eyeballs. Last year, 111 million viewers tuned in to the big game.
Other celebrities slated to appear in ads this year include “Big Bang Theory” actress Kaley Cuoco in a Toyota ad, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a Milk Processor Board ad and Korean rapper Psy in a spot for Paramount Farm’s Wonderful Pistachios, among others.
Best Buy has been facing tough competition from discounters and online retailers, as people browse electronics in stores and then go home to buy them more cheaply online, a practice known as “showrooming.” To combat this, it has instituted a cost-cutting program, revamped stores and invested in more employee training.
It has also included Super Bowl ads in its marketing budget for the past three years. Last year, Best Buy’s Super Bowl ad featured inventors of popular smartphone apps like Square, Angry Birds and Instagram. In 2010, Best Buy’s Super Bowl ad also featured celebrities, this time the unlikely duo of Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne.
Best Buy, based in Minneapolis, said it won’t reveal the content of this year’s ad before the Super Bowl, but added that Poehler was an active collaborator.
“It was kind of a riffing, improv sort of style within a script framework,” Durchslag said. “She had a lot of creative control, and I’m really glad we did it that way because we got to a place we never could have gotten to on our own.”
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More