Columbus area Super Bowl ads: 'Where's the Beef' marks 40 years; Victoria's Secret crashes
It was 40 years ago that three feisty old ladies stood and stared at an oversized hamburger bun with a patty so small that it was covered by a single pickle when one, Clara Peller, shouted, "Where's the Beef?"
That commercial made for the Super Bowl by Dublin-based Wendy's became part of American popular culture and remains one of the best remembered Super Bowl commercials after all these years.
While no companies based in central Ohio are advertising nationally in this year's big game, companies from here have had notable ads in the past:
Travolta, Stewart headline Scott's Miracle-Gro commercial
Marysville-based Scott's Miracle-Gro put on its first Super Bowl commercial in 2021, a 45-second ad that highlighted all the fun things people do in their yards, whether it is gardening, lawn work, barbequing, working out, relaxing, or, in the case of actor John Travolta and his daughter, Ella, making a dance video.
The ad also featured Martha Stewart, actors Carl Weathers and Leslie David Baker, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and fitness instructor Emma Lovewell.
Nationwide sponsoring Walter Payton Award
While it's not a commercial, Nationwide continues to be the presenting sponsor of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award that honors legacy of Walter Payton by amplifying the community work of current NFL players.
That award was presented Thursday night before the Super Bowl.
Nationwide also has advertised in past games, including two ads in 2015, one that was funny and one not so funny.
In the first, actress and author Mindy Kaling can be seen approaching life as if she's invisible after a taxi cab driver ignores her.
She takes pastry off someone's plate, eats a gallon pail of ice cream in the grocery store and sunbathes nude in what looks to be Central Park. It's only when Kaling takes a sniff of actor Matt Damon — yes, an actual sniff — that the fun come to an end.
The second Nationwide ad that aired during the 2015 Super Bowl was the "dead kid" commercial, where a young boy talks about all of the things he missed out on in life because he died in an accident. The ad shows an overflowing bathtub and other hazards, while noting that accidents are the leading cause of preventable death among children.
The ad was among the most talked about ads from that year's game. Nationwide drew widespread criticism and the company's chief marking officer resigned in the wake of the commercial's airing.
Nationwide also used Kevin Federline, a former husband of Britney Spears, for a 2007 Super Bowl ad that touted its "Life Comes at You Fast" campaign.
Victoria's Secret crashes the internet
Reynoldsburg-based Victoria's Secret has aired at least three Super Bowl ads, including one in 2015 that featured the brand's now defunct "Angels."
In the commercial, models Adriana Lima, Doutzen Kroes, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge and Behati Prinsloo suit up and play a fumble-free football game. It closes with the message: "Don't drop the ball. It's not Valentine's Day without Victoria's Secret."
A 2008 spot also featured Lima. She twirls a football before letting it fall to the ground. Captions that fill the screen read "Victoria's Secret would like to remind you. This game will soon be over. Let the real games begin."
The retailer's first ad from 1999 was one of the first to show the power of a TV-web tie-in. It lured more than a million people (a big number back then) to the fashion show website, causing it to crash.
Honda Takes a Day Off
Honda, which has a sprawling operations in Ohio and is spending billions on a battery plant for electric vehicles in Fayette County, had a Super Bowl ad in 2012 that was in recognition of the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
In the commercial, Matthew Broderick, who played the titular character in the John Hughes classic, plays hooky from his acting job and instead spends the day driving around in his Honda CR-V.
The Clydesdales
Budweiser, which has a plant in Columbus, will be back for this year's Super Bowl.
One ad, titled "Old-School Delivery," features the plight of a local bar that is running low on beer because of a snowstorm.
The Budweiser Clydesdales, with the help of a Labrador retriever, come to the rescue to the cheers of the patrons of the bar.
mawilliams@dispatch.com
@BizMarkWilliams
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus area Super Bowl ads: 'Where's the Beef' marks 40 years
