Butter Music & Sound, Mr. Bronx Audio in AdAge: Watch Häagen-Dazs’ First Super Bowl Ad with Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez

Häagen-Dazs is tapping into the “Fast and Furious” fandom for the ice cream brand’s first Super Bowl spot as it looks to draw in more consumers looking for a sweet snack.

The ad, from nice&frank, finds Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez speeding down a beachside highway in a red convertible. Rather than an expected pan to a car chase, we see Rodriguez unwrap and take a bite of a Häagen-Dazs vanilla, milk chocolate and almond ice cream bar. The music changes to Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin’” with the duo enjoying the sunset and fresh air. Ludacris pulls up next to them, asking what happened to the fast life? “Not today,” replies Diesel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTppVzG8gpU&ab_channel=H%C3%A4agen-DazsUS

The 30-second spot will air during the third quarter of the Feb. 9 game on Fox.

The idea for the spot came from the insight that consumers feel rushed and bombarded in life, but liked that ice cream requires them to eat it slowly.

“We were interested in the juxtaposition of a Super Bowl commercial, which are normally high-energy, and slowing down,” said Laura Petruccelli, co-founder and chief creative officer at nice&frank. “We wanted to flip going fast and the ‘Fast and Furious’ universe was the quickest, brick-to-the-forehead way of getting to that concept.”

Häagen-Dazs has been happy with its sales of ice cream and is in 25% of households, but wants to connect with more consumers, millennials in particular, according to Rachel Jaiven, its head of marketing.

“We want to see that household penetration grow and we know we have an opportunity to grow our snacks business,” Jaiven said. “Customers may not be thinking of us as the brand to go to for an ice cream snack.”

The “slow down” campaign will continue after the Super Bowl (though not with the “Fast and Furious” cast.)

“We’ll flip fast things in culturally relevant ways and plan to look at music and fashion,” said Petruccelli.

The spot is not a promotion for the franchise, whose next film “Fast 11” is slated to be released in 2026. The ad was directed by Lance Acord, co-founder of Park Pictures, whose previous Super Bowl work includes ads for Volkswagen. “Fast and Furious” director Louis Leterrier consulted on the project, which includes several nods to the franchise. The ad was shot on the Pacific Coast Highway, also a filming spot for the movies. The red convertible Diesel is driving and cars from the teasers were cars from the films.

BUTTER Music & Sound scored the spot and Mr. Bronx Audio was the audio post studio for the campaign. Read the AdAge Article HERE.