Bai’s Super Bowl ad will star its “chief flavor officer” Justin Timberlake
Bai, maker of low-calorie, antioxidant-infused drinks, is returning to the Super Bowl this year with a spot starring its chief flavor officer Justin Timberlake and a “surprise special guest.”
Bai will be making its first national Super Bowl appearance this year
The spot marks Bai’s first national Super Bowl appearance. Last year, the beverage brand aired a regional Super Bowl ad called “Horse Whisperer.” Created by Barton F. Graf, the spot featured a loud-mouthed "horse whisperer" who spends the majority of the ad yelling at the horse behind him.
This year, Bai has decided to take its creative in-house. The brand’s 30-second Super Bowl 51 spot was created by Bai’s internal creative team, which is led by its chief creative officer Chad Portas. Portas served as director of design at SapientNitro before joining Bai in 2014.
Bai’s founder and CEO Ben Weiss said in a statement that Timberlake also “played an integral role in the development of” the brand’s game day spot.
“Justin has been working closely with our team on several new projects and we are excited to see them all come to life in 2017,” he said. “This is just the beginning."
Timberlake was named Bai’s chief flavor officer in November. According to the brand, Timberlake is involved with “new flavor innovation, product launches, marketing campaigns and digital content, among other initiatives” at the company.