Marketing

Restaurants try to cash in on Super Bowl LIX

Marketing Bites: With the big game just a couple of weeks away, the biggest chains are prepping their TV ads, while smaller concepts are getting creative. One has even come up with a THC-spiked wing sauce.
Taco Bell Super Bowl ad Doja Cat
Rapper and Taco Bell fan Doja Cat appears in the fast-food Mexican chain's Super Bowl ad this year. | Photo courtesy: Taco Bell.

Marketing Bites

When it comes to the Super Bowl, some restaurant brands have the cash to spring for a commercial during the big game. (It cost about $233,333 per second of advertising during last year’s Super Bowl, according to USA Today.) And some concepts have to get a bit more creative. 

Super Bowl LIX is scheduled for Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with the Philadelphia Eagles facing the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s a look at some of what restaurants are doing this year to make the most of the big game:

Little Caesars, which would like you to know it is the “Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL,” will debut a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl, the chain’s first since 2020. 

“This year’s commercial highlights what makes Little Caesars unique in a bold, crazy-fun way, and captures the kind of energy we love to share with our fans,” CMO Greg Hamilton said in a statement. “Plus, there might be something new and exciting to reveal about our hottest product, Crazy Puffs, during Super Bowl LIX week.”

Taco Bell is also ponying up for an ad during the game, this one featuring some of the Mexican fast-food chain’s biggest fans. 

Last month, more than 3,000 Taco Bell customers turned up to Live Mas Drive-Thru Cams, photobooths set up at drive-thrus around the country, to try to win a spot in the ad. 

Fans went “all out,” Taco Bell noted, with some showing up dressed as tacos or decking their cars out in holiday lights. 

Noted Taco Bell enthusiast and Grammy-winning rapper Doja Cat, who has had a long history with the chain, photobombs fans in the commercial. In 2020, Doja Cat began calling for a return of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza and, in 2022, she appeared (along with country-music legend Dolly Parton) in Taco Bell’s tongue-in-cheek musical about the fan-favorite pizza. She also appeared in Taco Bell’s Super Bowl ad that year. 

To coincide with the ad, Taco Bell will offer a free Crunchy Taco, Crunchwrap, Mexican Pizza or Chalupa to Reward Members who order delivery through the app between Feb. 7-9. 

Of course, not everybody has Super Bowl advertising dollars in the marketing budget. But that doesn’t keep restaurants from getting in on the action. 

Iconic Ohio-based brands, Graeter’s Ice Cream and Skyline Chili have formed an unlikely alliance to create Graeter’s Skyline Spice Ice Cream. The limited-edition flavor launches in stores on Monday, “just in time for Big Game watch parties,” the companies said. 

The “wacky-yet-wonderful creation” is a blend of Graeter’s French Pot ice cream with oyster crackers and Skyline’s chili-spice mix. 

“This is the first time Skyline has done a dessert collaboration, so we knew it needed to be worth it,” CEO Dick Williams said in a press release. 

The unconventional ice cream will be available in all Graeter’s shops and Skyline restaurants, as well as in select Kroger stores and online for nationwide shipping. 

Restaurant-food shipping platform Goldbelly has partnered with the NFL to create Officially Licensed Super Bowl LIX Tailgate Kits. 

The kits celebrate the cuisine of host city New Orleans with items such as King Cake, Café du Monde Beignet Mix, Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane Mix, Central Grocery Olive Salad and more. A premium kit includes heartier fare, such as Jambalaya from Dooky Chase, fried chicken from Willie Mae’s and a Turducken. 

The packs serve six to eight people and range from $99 to $299, shipping included. 

Maybe you want to have nothing but a hazy memory of the Super Bowl this year? 

Boston chef and restaurateur Asia Mei of Moonshine 152, a concept known for its wings, has teamed up with Good News Cannabis to create a THC-infused Asian BBQ wing sauce to, um, elevate the big game. 

Big Game Wing sauce debuted in Chicago during last year’s Super Bowl, and this launch is an extension of the brand, Good News owner Cresco Labs said. 

The very special sauce will feature Mei’s “Go-Go Sauce,” which puts an Asian twist on traditional wing sauce with sweet, spicy and umami flavors. 

The sauce will also return to Illinois dispensaries this year, Cresco said. 

One ounce of sauce (about 2 tablespoons) contains 10 mg THC. So, dip and coat your wings according to how well you want to remember Super Bowl LIX. 

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Emerging Brands

Mezeh hopes to ride Mediterranean wave

This fast-casual concept is working to raise brand awareness as consumers increasingly embrace the healthful flavors of shawarma, hummus and harissa.

Financing

Price may not be the only thing hurting restaurant traffic

The Bottom Line: An aging population could be putting some pressure on industry sales, as older people tend to eat out less often.

Technology

The answer to Starbucks' mobile order problem has been there all along

Tech Check: The chain is testing software that sequences orders rather than fulfilling them as they arrive. It’s not a novel idea, but it could make a big difference.

Trending

More from our partners