Two legendary athletes and an actor are teaming up for a sports betting company’s Super Bowl LVIII commercial to air during the big game on Feb. 11.
What Happened: Media company Paramount Global Inc PARAPARAA will telecast Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 and has been looking to get $6 million to $7 million for 30-second commercials.
One company airing its first-ever Super Bowl commercial is sports betting and iGaming company BetMGM, a joint venture owned by MGM Resorts International MGM and Entain.
The commercial features former National Football League great Tom Brady, former National Hockey League great Wayne Gretzky and actor Vince Vaughn.
A teaser with Brady and Vaughn was unveiled Thursday. This was the first of three teasers according to the company ahead of the big game. In the first teaser, Vaughn asked Brady to slide over, moving out of the camera shot.
"This feels personal," Brady said off-screen.
BetMGM shared the video and said "fingers crossed" that Brady and Vaughn "can get it together."
"This year's Big Game is our moment to put BetMGM front and center of the largest audience in sports," BetMGM's Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost said. "We couldn't be happier with the talent we have assembled for the ad, and the connection they have to our brand."
BetMGM partnered with award-winning agency Highdive for the Super Bowl ad campaign. The sports betting company said the ads are part of a "multi-faceted strategy" to help boost its brand before, during and after Super Bowl LVIII.
With the Super Bowl happening in Las Vegas, where MGM Resorts has several casinos and resorts, the company will take advantage with in-person events.
The BetMGM ig Game Bash will be hosted at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with a headline performance by musician Luke Combs.
Related Link: MGM Resorts International Beats The Street In Q3, Authorizes New Share Buyback Program
Why It's Important: Super Bowl commercials continue to be a way for companies to reach a massive audience, but it also comes with a high cost.
Last year's Super Bowl was watched by 113 million viewers on Fox, setting a new six-year high for the annual game. The game was also the third most-watched television event in history. The game also broke a record as the most-streamed Super Bowl, with an average of 7 million streams, which was up 18% year-over-year.
Sports betting commercials are nothing new for NFL games or the Super Bowl.
Last year's Super Bowl saw DraftKings Inc DKNG air a star-studded commercial that featured actor Kevin Hart alongside athletes Emmitt Smith, Tony Hawk, David Ortiz, The Undertaker, Lisa Leslie, Julius Erving and rapper Ludacris. After airing Super Bowl ads for three straight years, DraftKings will sit out in Super Bowl LVIII according to a report from Advertising Age.
FanDuel, which is a unit of Flutter Entertainment ADR PDYPY, also aired Super Bowl ads last year with former NFL player Rob Gronkowski featured and even attempting to kick a field goal live during the big game. Gronkowski will return in a Super Bowl LVIII spot in an attempt to make a kick once again.
The inclusion of Brady may draw some attention as the former NFL player has previously worked with DraftKings on the launch of NFTs and has a trading card deal with Fanatics, which also has a sports betting platform.
The move by BetMGM to have its first-ever Super Bowl ad comes as the sports betting space continues to be dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel. BetMGM has often battled for a third-place position in market share.
With the entry of ESPN Bet, which was launched by PENN Entertainment PENN, BetMGM could be seeing pressure on its market share. The Super Bowl commercial could help boost the brand's visibility again and lead to some promotions tied to the big game.
MGM Price Action: MGM Resorts International shares trade at $42.36 on Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $34.12 to $51.35.
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