Snickers, a fan favorite with its Super Bowl spots over the past decade, is upping the ante for 2017 by planning the first live commercial ever to air on the big game.
The 30-second spot, by BBDO New York, will be performed live in the first ad slot of the third quarter during the Feb. 5 telecast. As previously announced, it will star Adam Driver, one of Hollywood's fastest rising actors—who parlayed a memorable role in HBO's Girls into a feature film career that has included playing villain Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The stunt will be preceded by a 36-hour livestream from the set of the commercial. That livestream, at SnickersLive.com, will run from noon ET on Thursday, Feb. 2, until midnight Friday night. (In addition to the 36-hour livestream, Snickers will stream more live content at SnickersLive.com before, during and after the Super Bowl itself on Feb. 5.)
No details about the creative were released, though Snickers said the work will be part of a "fully integrated 360 campaign to reinforce the brand's connection to hunger satisfaction before, during and after Super Bowl LI."
The brand also unveiled four teaser spots for the project, which hint at a Western theme:
"Every year we challenge ourselves to find new ways to satisfy our fans hunger for entertainment by delivering something new and breakthrough, and there is no better way than being the first to have a Super Bowl live ad," said Allison Miazga-Bedrick, Snickers brand director.
This is the third straight Super Bowl buy for the Mars candy brand, following well-received 30-second spots in 2015 and 2016 starring Danny Trejo and Willem Dafoe. Its other recent Super Bowl successes date back to the 2010 spot with Betty White.
"We're excited to welcome Snickers back to the Super Bowl on Fox," said Bruce Lefkowitz, Fox Networks group executive vice president, advertising sales. "As this first-ever live Super Bowl spot demonstrates, innovation in advertising comes as much from outstanding creative ideas as it does from technology."
Snickers isn't the only brand that will be producing work on the fly on Super Bowl Sunday. Hyundai has announced that it will be filming its commercial during the game, to air in the first slot after the final whistle.