Creative with Character: Famous Fictional Characters Make a Comeback for Super Bowl LVI Advertising

Each year we love seeing which advertisers decide to do something a bit different by casting a famous fictional character to star in their campaign rather than going down the more traditional celebrity route.  (Take a look at the famous characters and IP that featured in last year’s Super Bowl advertising). 

As expected, an impressive array of A-list talent featured heavily with the likes Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Trevor Noah, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Salma Hayek, Serena Williams, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Hart, William Shatner, Dennis Rodman, plus many more all making appearances. 

But what excited us most of course was seeing famous fictional characters being brought back to screen. For the second consecutive year, General Motors rebooted a 90’s classic. Last year the automaker resurrected Edward Scissorhands for Cadillac. This year Mike Myers reprised his role as Dr. Evil from Austin Powers alongside fan-favourites Number 2, Scott Evil and Frau Farbissina. Nostalgia was a running theme with other 90’s classics being leveraged by advertisers looking to appeal to a broad demographic. Jim Carrey revived his role as The Cable Guy for Verizon, Jamie-Lynn Sigler returned as Meadow Soprano from Sopranos for Chevrolet, and Michelob ULTRA paid tribute to The Big Lebowski with Steve Buscemi back in the lanes. 

Here's a rundown of our favourite ads from Super Bowl 2022 which licensed famous fictional characters or other entertainment IP…

Austin Powers x General Motors (GM) by McCann Detroit

The Cable Guy x Verizon by McCann New York

The Big Lebowski x Michelob ULTRA by Wieden + Kennedy New York

Barbie x Rocket Mortgage by Highdive Advertising 

Sopranos x Chevrolet by Commonwealth // McCann