Coverage

Back

The Super Bowl Ad That Fed a Million Kids

There was more than one winner in this year's Super Bowl. In fact there were close to a million, thanks to a unique partnership between Jeff Bridges, Squarespace, Wieden+Kennedy and Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign.

Television ads during the Super Bowl are met with as much anticipation as the game itself. The New York Times reported that this year 30-second spots started at $4.5 million. In addition to spots that were fun and memorable last night, one creative, generous team went a step further -- pitching a product designed to not only promote a brand, but to feed millions of America's hungry children.

Squarespace, the build-your-own-website design firm, enlisted Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges to produce and promote a compilation of sleep tapes called DreamingWithJeff. Bridges has long been a creative force not only in Hollywood but in the anti-hunger community. Leveraging that creativity once again, he agreed to participate if 100 percent of the proceeds benefited the No Kid Hungry campaign. The ad agency of Wieden+Kennedy went all out to orchestrate a comprehensive multi-media campaign with a heavy social media presence. It was a great example of sharing strengths, the core philosophy of our organization, leveraging one's special gifts to make a difference for others.

The result: a one-of-a-kind new product reflecting Jeff Bridges personal artistry, and tens of thousands of dollars raised to enroll kids in school breakfast and summer meals programs at just the time it is needed the most, with 15 million American children stuck in poverty. This unique effort will last for an entire year, and because every dollar enables us to feed 10 kids, we anticipate that one million kids will benefit before all is said and done.

The lesson for Super Bowl advertisers and nonprofits alike: creativity and commitment to community are a winning combination.The New Yorker rated itamong the best of the Super Bowl ads. Solving social problems like hunger and poverty requires reaching a larger audience than the usual core group of committed activists. What has a larger audience than the Super Bowl?

Over his long career, Jeff Bridges, through his films and music, has always found new ways to reach and move audiences. In a 30-second Super Bowl ad and the year-long promotion it launches, he's done it again.