*

Advertisers pay up to $8 million for a 30-second Super

Bowl spot

*

American brands return to tradition, celebrity and cheer

*

OpenAI and Perplexity capitalize on the Super Bowl to

promote AI

By Dawn Chmielewski

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev is

bringing back its iconic workhorse Clydesdales for a Super Bowl

ad that the brewing company says celebrates the "grit and

determination" of the American spirit.

The Budweiser commercial marks a return to tradition, after

a disastrous social media promotion for its Bud Light brand in

2023 featuring transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, sparked

calls for a boycott.

"We're definitely seeing Budweiser play it safe this year,"

said Charles R. Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova's

School of Business and author of a book about Super Bowl ads.

"Everybody loves the Clydesdales."

The return to safe, familiar and nostalgic ground represents

a trend among some advertisers for this year's Super Bowl LIX, a

rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City

Chiefs in New Orleans. Brands are expected to lean on humor,

celebrity and warm references to America's heartland, reflective

of the cultural zeitgeist.

For the first time, OpenAI and Perplexity will seek to

capitalize on the biggest televised event of the year, bringing

artificial intelligence into the homes of millions of Americans.

"We're all in this good, happy place, and want to be

entertained," said Gartner analyst Nicole Denman Greene. "So, to

insert your brand in that moment of fandom ... you have to deliver

creative that is resonant with that audience."

Super Bowl advertisers are flashing serious star power, with

an estimated two-thirds of the commercials featuring

celebrities.

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reenact their famous deli scene

from the 1989 romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally," in a

commercial for Hellmann's mayonnaise that also includes a brief

appearance from "Euphoria's" Sydney Sweeney. Willem Dafoe and

Catherine O'Hara double-up on the pickleball court to hustle

opponents out of their Michelob Ultra beers. Eugene Levy, Ben

Affleck, Matt Damon, Post Malone, Vin Diesel and Kermit the Frog

also show up in the 30-second spots.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is expected to air its

first commercial during the Super Bowl, bringing the race for

artificial intelligence supremacy to America's bars and living

rooms. Meanwhile Perplexity AI is hosting a Super Bowl

sweepstakes that offers a $1 million prize for asking questions

during the game.

Greene said AI companies are seizing on the Super Bowl's

reach to address consumer anxiety about the fast-evolving

technology.

"All of the ads I've seen -- and I can't wait to see all of

the creative -- it's more about making people see how they can

be more productive, and how their lives could be better," said

Greene. "I don't know if that's going to eliminate the fear,

because, as people learn more about the capabilities, we're

seeing in the data, that they get less certain."

This year's game will have fewer car commercials than in

previous years. Stellantis ( STLA ) is the only automaker to

announce a Super Bowl ad, in which actor Glen Powell delivers a

humorously macho twist on the familiar "Goldilocks and the Three

Bears" fairy tale.

Ads hawking beers and snacks return. They will share screen

time with newcomer venture capital-backed Liquid Death, the

canned water brand that bought its first Big Game ad to promote

its Killer Cola and Cherry Obituary.

So far, the most popular Super Bowl ad is the winner of

Doritos' "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, depicting an alien

abduction.

"It's off the scale on funny, on curiosity," said Sean

Muller, founder and chief executive of TV advertising

measurement firm iSpot.TV. "People love the ad."