12 Super Bowl LV Brand Activations You Might Have Missed

Instead of the usual on-site events, brands such as Verizon and Bud Light created virtual experiences for this year's big game.

Michele Laufik

February 10, 2021

Instagram teamed up with the NFL and DJ D-Nice for a takeover of the @Instagram account to help fans get ready for the game. The festivities included an interactive playlist via Instagram Stories featuring the DJ’s favorite gameday tracks along with highlights from the 2020 season. Then fans could move over to D-Nice’s (@dnice) Instagram account where he livestreamed a DJ set from Raymond James Stadium before kickoff.Photo: Courtesy of DJ D-Nice/InstagramOn Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, which took place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Tom Brady and his Bucs winning was probably the only semi-normal part of the day, though. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL allowed just 22,000 fans to attend the game this year—a third of the stadium’s normal 65,000-seat capacity—along with 7,500 vaccinated frontline health-care workers, plus a crowd of cardboard cut-outs.

And the lack of in-person fans didn’t exactly translate into a larger at-home audience. According to ViacomCBS, which broadcast the event, the game attracted 96.4 million viewers, making it the lowest-watched Super Bowl since 2007.

In addition to the attendance limitations, Super Bowl LV was also fully mobile ticketed and fully cashless, making it the first paperless NFL game. Attendees were required to use their smartphones for entry and for concession payments. (Kiosks outside the stadium were set up to convert cash into gift cards for use at concession and souvenir stands.) Visa, the “official payment services partner” of the NFL, had been aiming for a cashless Super Bowl by 2025, but the pandemic sped up the timeline.

Visa wasn’t the only brand forced to innovate during this year’s game. Others including Verizon, Bud Light and the NFL itself got creative with their messaging, with many activating on social media platforms in search of younger fans. Here are some standout Super Bowl brand activations you might have missed.

Super Bowl Experience Presented by Lowe's

The NFL's interactive football theme park returned for Super Bowl LV, taking place Jan. 29-31 and Feb. 3-6 along the Tampa Riverwalk. Fans had the opportunity to virtually meet current NFL players and legends (instead of the usual in-person autograph signings), participate in games and shop merch from the NFL Shop presented by Visa. The experience also included a 40-yard dash and vertical jump against NFL players on LED screens and a Super Bowl rings display. Fans were required to use the NFL OnePass app to register and check in to all the attractions.

Photo: Courtesy of City of Tampa/Facebook

Mercari Presents The SHAQ Bowl

Broadcast live from Tampa from inside a custom-built stadium, the new event, which was produced by Medium Rare, featured pro athletes and celebrities divided into two teams and competing in challenges such as a hot wing-eating contest and arm wrestling in order to win the SHAQ Bowl trophy. It also included a halftime show presented by Pepsi Stronger Together. Other event partners included Papa John’s, Truff, Chewy, Jack Link’s, JCPenney and Nautica. The event, which was presented by Mercari, also included a marketplace with autographed memorabilia from athletes and celebs. Proceeds benefited the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Photo: Courtesy of Medium Rare

#ShaqVsSasquatch at the SHAQ Bowl

During the SHAQ Bowl event, formerly known as Shaq’s Fun House, beef jerky brand Jack Link’s presented a live arm wrestling challenge titled #ShaqVsSasquatch. Host Shaquille O’Neal and Jack Link’s Sasquatch battled it out before the big game on Sunday, with the NBA legend beating the beast.

Photo: Courtesy of Medium Rare

The #EpicStuffs Challenge Presented by Papa John’s at the SHAQ Bowl

O’Neal competed against Bryson Tiller in this race while seated in Papa John’s Epic Stuffed Chair. The enormous chair features a reinforced pizza table, a smartphone holder and a garlic sauce cup dispenser, plus a motor for getting around.

Photo: Courtesy of Medium Rare

Verizon’s Tech Push

To demonstrate the power of 5G technology, Verizon teamed up with online video game Fortnite to create a virtual football stadium within the game that featured NFL players competing against professional gamers. The company also created a 5G SuperStadium within the NFL mobile app that allowed iPhone 12 users to watch the game from different camera angles.

Photo: Courtesy of Verizon

Verizon’s The Big Concert for Small Business

As part of the brand’s campaign to support small businesses, Verizon hosted a livestreamed benefit concert immediately following the Super Bowl, featuring Alicia Keys, Eric Church, H.E.R, Brittany Howard, Luke Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Jazmine Sullivan and Christina Aguilera. Viewers were able to virtually attend the concert on Verizon-owned platforms like Yahoo and Fios, cable outlets and the brand's social media channels.

Screenshot: Courtesy of Yahoo/YouTube

The NFL TikTok Tailgate

Miley Cyrus headlined the two-hour NFL TikTok Tailgate in Tampa on Sunday. The virtual experience was streamed via @NFL on TikTok, and portions of Cyrus's performance were televised during the CBS Super Bowl LV Pregame Show. The pregame content also included cooking segments and appearances by NFL athletes and TikTok creators.

Screenshot: Courtesy of TikTok

Bud Light Legends

Bud Light unveiled its new rewards program, Bud Light Legends, along with its Super Bowl LV ad that reunited notable Bud Light characters in one commercial, including Post Malone, Cedric the Entertainer, the “I Love You, Man” guy, the Bud Knight, Oracle Susana and more. The rewards program offers Bud Light consumers access to custom merch and experiences such as music and sporting events like Lollapalooza and celebrity meet and greets. To kick off the program, Bud Light offered the first 10,000 fans who enlisted to have their names engraved on the Bud Light brew tanks used in the St. Louis brewery.

Photo: Courtesy of Bud Light

DJ D-Nice’s Instagram Takeover

Photo: Courtesy of DJ D-Nice/Instagram

Wheels Up’s Super Sunday Virtual Tailgate

On Sunday, private aviation brand Wheels Up hosted its first Super Sunday Virtual Tailgate for members and their guests. The experience included a pregame chalk talk with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera, ESPN College Football analyst Mike Golic and ESPN’s Steve Levy. The brand also arranged a kitchen tour and cooking class with iconic New York City restaurant Rao’s, hosted by the owners and chef Dino Gatto, who showed viewers how to make the restaurant’s famous meatballs.

Photo: Courtesy of Wheels Up

The Nickelodeon Super Duper Super Bowl Pregame Spectacular

Nickelodeon and CBS Sports, in partnership with the NFL, teamed up again to produce multiplatform content that included a half-hour pregame show with Super Bowl fun facts, “Nick-ified” season highlights (such as slime-covered touchdowns) and predictions of this year’s winning team. In terms of second-screen content, @Nickelodeon, @NFLonCBS, @CBSSports and @NFL handles featured “Nick-ified” highlights before and during the game, as well as content such as polls, trivia and games on NFLNickPlay.com.

Screenshot: Courtesy of Nickelodeon

RISE’s Champions of Change

RISE (Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality) launched its virtual Super Bowl activation, “Champions of Change,” in partnership with Pepsi, with help from On Board Experiential and marketing consultancy Think TRUE. RISE is a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations. The traditional on-site activation was transformed into an interactive digital experience where attendees were able to visit a virtual locker room where they could step into the shoes of iconic sports figures, plus attendees were asked to join the movement with call to actions, earning points along the way to unlock digital and shareable prizes. “Champions of Change” events will also take place around the upcoming NCAA Basketball Final Four and USA Swimming Olympic Trials.

Photo: Courtesy of RISE