Commercial breaks often give TV viewers time for a trip to the bathroom — but never quite like this.
In a 30-second ad that aired during NBC’s telecast of Super Bowl LX, Liquid I.V., a maker of electrolyte drink mixes, decided to give viewers a royal flush: a series of toilets and commodes singing about the need to examine the color of one’s urine to ensure proper hydration. The spot showed a series of different latrines and urinals crooning a cover version of the Phil Collins power ballad “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” by the singer Ejae, who is known for her recent work in the film “KPop Demon Hunters.”
The concept “is one of those things that just makes you sit up a little bit straighter in your chair, and you’re just uncomfortable enough,” says Stacey Andrade-Wells, the company’s chief marketing officer, during a recent interview. And while the ad doesn’t discuss the actual product it’s pitching until its final seconds, “it all comes together at the very end,” she adds, and consumers will “understand now why these toilets are singing.”
Liquid I.V. jumped into a very crowded pool. More marketers of health and wellness products and services came to the Super Bowl to tout weight loss pills, telehealth services and even getting consumers to take tests that might identify potential maladies. Andrade-Wells attributes the interest in “a refocus on health and wellness” in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Taking care of one’s mind and body has become “such a critical part of people’s everyday lives,” she says. “And that trend is not going anywhere.”
Unlike many of the others, Liquid I.V. bet on a creative concept, not a famous face. Super Bowl viewers will see Serena Williams tout the telehealth provider Ro; Kenan Thompson, Ana Gasteyer, DJ Khaled and others in a commercial for a new Wegovy weight loss pill; and Octavia Spencer and Sofía Vergara spotlight a new urine test from Boehringer Ingelheim meant to highlight kidney function.
“One thing that we were very intentional about when we were creating this idea was most brands are going to show up to the Super Bowl with celebrity talent in their ads, and ultimately, you see so many celebrities. You start to misattribute,” says Andrade-Wells. “It becomes almost a little bit of celebrity fatigue.” Liquid I.V. told its ad agency, Anomaly, that any Super Bowl commercial ideas “would not rely on celebrity talent.”
And while Liquid I.V. has never run a commercial in the Super Bowl before, its owner, Unilever, most certainly has. The consumer-products giant has placed commercials for Hellmann’s mayonnaise in the Big Game for six consecutive years, including in 2026. And its Dove is appearing for the second time in as many years on Sunday.
Potty humor can also be a tricky conceit to pull off for a Super Bowl audience. Gross-out jokes don’t always play well for a broad crowd that often includes families and kids. But others have found a way to approach the subject without alienating crowds often eating as they watch the Big Game.
Georgia-Pacific’s Angel Soft last year ran a 30-second spot during Fox’s telecast of Super Bowl LIX featuring a cute animated ‘angel” figure telling the audience they had time to dash to the bathroom. The commercial even featured a countdown clock. WK Kellogg’s Raisin Bran may step closer to the bounds of good taste with an ad on Sunday slated to run on Peacock that features William Shatner as “William Shat” talking about a high-fiber version of the cereal. The commercial will stream only, rather than appearing in NBC’s linear feed.
“I’m sure we’re going to get some people who are like, ‘I can’t believe they’re telling me to look at my pee,’” says Andrade-Wells. “But it isn’t offensive.”
Indeed, getting people to converse about their bathroom habits is the point. “Our goal is to inspire behavior change,” says the executive. “We want people at their Super Bowl parties to be debating it with each other. And ultimately, we want them to think about hydration.”
To make its point further, Liquid I.V. is putting some ad money into places where people might talk further about its ad — like barroom bathrooms in San Francisco, where this year’s Super Bowl takes place, and in the hometowns of the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The company has also arranged to have Monday christened National Rehydration Day and has worked out a way to get Liquid I.V. delivered to consumers via a partnership with DoorDash.
People can always drink more water, of course, but the goal of this Super Bowl commercial is to get them to think about something slightly more complex. Liquid I.V. has “about 37% national awareness as a brand” and “about 18.5% household penetration, says Andrade-Wells. “Still less than half of America is aware this brand even exists.” After Sunday’s Super Bowl debut, that probably will no longer be the case.
English (US) ·