Popeyes' First-Ever Super Bowl Ad Is All About (What Else) Chicken
There's no bigger day for football fans than the Super Bowl — and there's no bigger day for brands hoping to grab some national attention, either. This year, per information shared with Mashed, iconic fried chicken chain Popeyes is hitting the Big Game airwaves for the first time with a spot celebrating some menu updates, as well as a new promotion.
While the exact details of the commercial are yet to be revealed, it is set to air in the game's first quarter. According to the company, the spot will focus on its recent move to permanently add chicken wings to Popeyes' menu. They've been available as a limited-time item since 2014, with new styles becoming available periodically. Now, hungry diners can grab them whenever they want, in five popular flavors, no less. These include familiar favorites like Signature Hot and Honey BBQ, as well as scorching Ghost Pepper, distinctive Sweet 'N Spicy, and Roasted Garlic Parmesan.
Popeyes must believe the ad can sell a lot of wings, as a 30-second commercial may cost as much as $7 million to appear during this year's Super Bowl broadcast — per The Hollywood Reporter. At $5.99 for an order of six Popeyes wings, that's the equivalent of buying more than 1.7 million chickens' worth of wings.
Customers get free 6-piece wings, depending who wins
Popeyes fans will also have another reason to keep an eye on the NFL championship this year. As part of its wing-focused celebration, Popeyes announced its "Wings for Wings" promotion, which gives anyone a free, six-piece order of wings if a team that has something wing-related in its name, logo, or mascot wins the Super Bowl.
This would include obvious options like the Eagles and Ravens, but Popeyes also added the (Buffalo) Bills to the fun. If this strategy pays off, fans should note that they'll only be able to redeem the offer in the Popeyes app or online, and only on February 13 — Fat Tuesday, a nod to the chain's New Orleans roots.
But true fans who don't want to wait that long might choose to grab some Popeyes wings for the big game itself. After all, that would leave you more time to focus your menu on the other most popular Super Bowl foods – and for you to focus on Popeyes' first-ever Super Bowl commercial.