The Heineken 0.0 Super Bowl 2023 Ad Is Getting The Marvel Treatment
There are few media franchises that are as beloved as Marvel. High-flying, CGI-fueled superhero romps have taken over cinema; they've become part and parcel with contemporary culture. While comic book adaptations are fun, their massive popularity comes with a caveat — Captain America has gone from classic character to cash cow.
It's no secret superheroes are big money makers. ScreenRant notes that in 2022, Marvel movies made more than $1 billion. Drawing upon the widespread appeal of the Marvel brand, several companies have attempted to sell products by using some of the beloved characters from the franchise. A few years ago, a number of Avengers and associated characters appeared in Hyundai commercials. One ad saw the Falcon wielding Captain America's shield, and another was centered around the Scarlet Witch and her genre-bending psychic capabilities (per MovieWeb).
During the upcoming Super Bowl, Heineken will air an advertisement featuring the arthropod Avenger Ant-Man.
Heineken 0.0 is perfect for a day of crime-fighting
It'd be a bad look for a superhero to drink on the job. With galactic-scale supervillains lurking around every corner, taking a load off with a few pints is probably better reserved for a caped crusader's day off. However, Heineken's new commercial sees Ant-Man finding a workaround that allows him to enjoy a daytime brew.
The commercial opens on Paul Rudd's Ant-Man in his superhero suit. He sets down a sweaty green bottle of Heineken on the counter before him but is quickly besieged by a disapproving ant — the aptly named Anton. Ant-Man assuages the ant's concerns by spinning the bottle around, revealing the bold 0.0% label printed on its face. The superhero then gets an alert on a nearby monitor. Because he's unimpaired by the non-alcoholic beer, Ant-Man is able to leap right into action.
Heineken's advertisement also serves as an advertisement for the third installment in the Ant-Man solo film series, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (per Radio Times). The commercial will air during the Super Bowl, which is set to take place just a few days before Quantumania's February 17 release date.
The rise of alcohol-free alternatives and additional Ant-Man advertisements
It's understandable why Heineken would use the upcoming Super Bowl LLVI to promote its alcohol-free offering. Citing a Nielson study, CNBC reports that 2022 saw 20% growth in the non-alcoholic beer market. CNBC adds that GMI Insights projects the non-alcoholic industry to be worth $40 billion in just under a decade. (And if you're curious, The Direct notes that it's still illegal for minors to buy non-alcoholic beer, even if they're legally allowed to drink it.)
As for the beloved superhero, Heineken isn't the only brand Paul Rudd's Ant-Man has been associated with. In the first "Ant-Man" film, the hero works at Baskin-Robbins.
More recently, Ant-Man was featured in an advertisement for hiring platform ZipRecruiter. The ad follows a woman who used the platform to secure her dream job, working alongside Ant-Man and oversized insects at the fictional Pym Van Dyne corporation.