S T U D I O 1 2 : Hard Rock Edits Super Bowl Spot After Kobe's Death

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First Things First

January 29, 2020

By Jameson Fleming

After Kobe Bryant's Death, Hard Rock Edited Its Michael Bay-Directed Super Bowl Ad

With Michael Bay at the helm, there was little doubt that Hard Rock's Super Bowl ad would feature some action. But that penchant for the big explosion led Hard Rock to edit its spot following the death of Kobe Bryant. The brand and VaynerMedia, the creative agency behind the ad, declined to describe the problematic scenes, but said parts of the ad could have been considered "insensitive." The brand released a teaser on Wednesday, which promises a "provocative" and "epic" tour of the Hard Rock property after a thief nabs what appears to be Jennifer Lopez's diamond-encrusted coffee cup. J-Lo, her fiancé Alex Rodriguez, and Miami's own Pitbull and DJ Khaled star in the ad.

Watch it: See the teaser here. Plus, travel reporter Ryan Barwick spoke with the brand about the changes.

Super Bowl 54: Watch Every Big Game Ad

As of now, brands have released 33 Super Bowl spots, but only a handful more will debut before the Big Game. In total, we're projecting a little more than 50 ads, which means about a dozen or so will premiere during the Super Bowl. To make watching all the ads easier (if you don't care about being surprised on Super Bowl Sunday), we created a user-friendly gallery—on desktop and mobile—for your viewing pleasure. See all the ads here.

Here's a rundown of all the ads released on Wednesday:

Reporter Katie Lundstrom spoke with Sam Elliott about his Doritos spot that features an unorthodox dance battle. In this charming interview, Elliott talks about how he maintains his glorious mustache, Old Town Road and Lil Nas X. Watch it here.
Amazon is back in the Super Bowl again, this time with a spot featuring Ellen Degeneres and her wife actress Portia de Rossi. The pair wonders what life was like before Alexa. Watch it here.
Bud Light made two versions of its ad, which fans will vote on to determine which spot will air in the Super Bowl. The ads go inside the mind of rapper Post Malone as he tries to decide whether he should try Bud Light Seltzer. Watch them here.
This headline describes this ad perfectly: If Coke's Unity Anthem 'Hilltop' Had a Cynical Sibling, It Would Be This Delightful Snickers Super Bowl Ad. Watch it here.
Sometimes Super Bowl ads are like a game of Mad Libs. In today's edition, Missy Elliott and H.E.R. cover a Rolling Stones song so that Pepsi can throw shade at Coca-Cola. Watch it here.
A few months after the debut of Frozen 2, Audi opted to bring back "Let It Go," sung by Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams (anybody think Into the Unknown would be a way better song for a car ad?). Watch it here.
In an uplifting Kia spot, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs voices what he could tell his younger self about persevering through homelessness. Watch it here.
Discover split up its 30-second ad buy into two 15-second ads that will bookend a different brand's spot. The ads feature montages of famous characters in TV and movie history. Watch them here.
TurboTax created a rap about doing your taxes. Yes, it's better than last year's Robochild. Watch it here.
Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness will help Pop-Tarts debut a new product in this sparkling spot. Watch it here.
Heinz is running four spots at the same time. The only thing they have in common is a bottle of ketchup. Watch it here.
Jeep is returning to the game and reportedly running a Bill Murray/Groundhog Day-themed spot. Get the details here.

Ryan Reynolds Loves Super Bowl Commercials, Except When He Has to Pay for Them

One year after Mint Mobile gave us the Chunky Milk ad—which the entire Adweek newsroom hated last year except for me—Mint Mobile is back, but with a stunt. Ryan Reynolds recently bought the mobile phone service provider, but didn't want to pony up $5.6 million for 30 seconds of air time. Instead, the brand bought an ad in The New York Times to announce its giving away over 300,000 months of free phone service. How much would over 300,000 months of Mint Mobile phone service cost consumers? You guessed it. About $5 million.

Best of the Rest: Today's Top News and Insights

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resh off her GRAMMY week hosting musical artists in the Citi Sound Vault at the Hollywood Palladium, Jennifer Breithaupt, global consumer CMO, Citi, and I got a chance to talk about her role and the exciting things she's working on across the industry. If you are a Citi customer, there's no doubt you've heard of all the exclusive concerts and experiences that Citi provides, but what you may not know is how focused Jennifer is on helping to advance equality through music.

Finish the Adweek Crossword: Super Bowl Edition

The first person to email an image of a completed puzzle to crossword@adweek.com will receive two tickets to Elevate:AI, an Adweek event on March 19 in New York focusing on the rapidly evolving and increasingly adopted technology: artificial intelligence, and its ever-growing influence in marketing and the daily lives of consumers.