Meta is returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2022 with an ad featuring a pair of star-studded Chris’s.
Actors Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth will promote Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, wearable, AI-powered tech that enables wearers to capture photos and videos, listen to music, make calls and texts using voice commands, and more.
Meta didn’t disclose which agency is behind the upcoming spot, or when it will air during the game.
In 2022, Meta worked with Anomaly LA on a 60-second spot, “Old Friends, New Fun,” to promote its push into the metaverse.
Meta has something smart planned for its Super Bowl spot: its glasses, reports Cydney Lee. It’s the tech giant’s first Big Game ad since 2020, and the company is leaning heavily into its Ray-Ban smart glasses. It makes sense if Meta makes its glasses a focal point this year. It just extended its partnership with Ray-Ban owner Luxottica, so if you want your smart glasses to look sportier, you can hold out for Meta-powered Oakley glasses later this year.
Also, depending on your leanings, core Facebook or Instagram might not be where you want to wile away the hours in the coming years. Scroll to The Roundup section to see what’s going on there.
Short-form Video Wars: How Competitors Are Seizing on TikTok’s Setback
Here’s how Meta, X, Snap, and others are vying for TikTok’s users, creators, and ad dollars
The stage is set! Advertisers, don’t miss this cultural moment. ADWEEK House The Big Game is headed to New Orleans on February 7. RSVP.
Rival social platforms are seizing on TikTok’s legal and technical troubles, rolling out new incentives to lure creators and advertisers.
As TikTok faces mounting uncertainty, competitors are doubling down with fresh monetization tools, expanded ad offerings, and aggressive outreach—turning disruption into an opportunity to reshape short-form video.
“It will be hard for [TikTok] to shake off its association with the Trump administration,” said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Emarketer. “If Trump is able to broker a deal with ByteDance, he’s not likely to let consumers forget that he saved TikTok.
Clicking for a Cruise
It’s cold. Most people don’t like being cold. Instead, they’re rather be warm—and perhaps enjoying a cocktail with a loved one on a big boat.
A commercial from Virgin Voyages, which offers 80% off for the second passenger and up to $300 in free drinks, generated 89% more viewer engagement—measured in online searches and website traffic—than other ads in the cruises category last week, according to TV ad performance company EDO.
The 30-second spot, which debuted on Christmas Day last year, appeared 967 times on linear cable and broadcast television between January 20 and 26.
Meta’s Threads Starts Showing Ads as It Hits 300 Million Active Users
The stage is set! Advertisers, don’t miss this cultural moment. Meta’s challenger to X, Threads, is finally introducing ads in its mobile app in the U.S and Japan, marking a key step in its push to monetize its platform.
Starting today, a small group of advertisers will begin testing ads in the Threads feed, with a broader rollout expected in the coming months, according to Meta.
The move follows Threads’ growth, surpassing 300 million monthly active users. Meta launched Threads in July 2023 and hit 100 million monthly active users by December of that year.
Meta has hinted at rolling out ads to Threads but wants to ensure that ads enhance—not disrupt—the platform’s appeal as an alternative to X.
