Kanye ‘Ye’ West’s Super Bowl commercial has divided NFL viewers after he admitted to spending ‘all his money’ securing the airtime slot.
Super Bowl Sunday is an annual US tradition that sees fans travelling the length and breadth of the country to watch the NFL Championship game with their nearest and dearest.
The 58th edition started with a bang yesterday and at first, it looked as if the San Francisco 49ers were going to cinch the title and defeat reigning trophy holders, Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the tight game was forced into overtime and the Chiefs ended up on top with a narrow 25-22 victory over their foes.
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It’s claimed that over 100 million American football fans annually tune in to watch the Super Bowl and its iconic halftime show from their homes.
This year, brands such as Mountain Dew, Google and BMW all capitalised on this huge audience by airing prime-time adverts during the game.
Uber Eats’ ad featured David and Victoria Beckham, while He Gets Us’ religion-inspired commercial definitely got the internet talking.
But fans reckon 46-year-old Kanye 'Ye' West’s Super Bowl broadcast may just be the ‘weirdest’ of the pack.
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The 30-second clip was reportedly aired during the NFL game and was used to advertise the rapper’s clothing brand, Yeezy.
However, unlike the polished offerings that Dunkin’ and Hellman’s put out, West's looked as if he’d filmed it on his mobile phone in the back of a vehicle at night.
Speaking to his front camera, the ‘Gold Digger’ hitmaker said: “Hey y’all, this is Ye, and this is my commercial. And since we spent all the money on the commercial spot, we actually — we didn’t spend any money on the actual commercial.”
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The father-of-four then said he wanted viewers to head to yeezy.com before spelling out the website name for ease.
“I’m gonna write it at the bottom of the screen,” he added. “And I got some shoes and mmm that’s it.”
The homemade video has caused some controversy, with many viewers flocking to social media to have their say.
One user of X expressed their admiration, writing: “Kanye West with the most legendary advertisement ever at #SuperBowl.”
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“Americans discovered Kanye West's face during commercials because this madman bought a few seconds of ad space for $7 million to show a video of him in his car asking people to go to his site and buy his products,” typed a second.
“The Genius that is Kanye West,” said a third. “Put a commercial on the Super Bowl that will trend beyond the Super Bowl.”
But another questioned: “He shoot this on a potato?”
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“That's not Kanye, who the heck is that,” typed a fifth.
While CBS has previously reported that a 30-second Super Bowl advert spot costs $7million, it seems as if West may have not paid that sky-high price after all.
The Hollywood Reporter claims that the fashion mogul’s commercial didn’t air in all markets and that it was broadcast in Miami, but not in Los Angeles.
The publication therefore suggests that West potentially purchased the advertisement slots on a regional basis and probably paid less than the reported going rate.
Regardless, it’s still unclear whether the rapper’s advertisement is a stroke of planned genius or a serious last-minute scramble. What do you think?
Topics: Kanye West, Sport, NFL, Super Bowl