Lil Nas X, Jonathan Van Ness and Ellen DeGeneres led a ‘rainbow wave’ with the queerest Super Bowl adverts ever
Lil Nas X and Jonathan Van Ness both starred in big-budget Super Bowl commercials. (YouTube)
Lil Nas X had a dance off over a bag of Doritos, Jonathan Van Ness fixed pretzels with the help of Pop Tarts, and Katie Sowers stirred emotions with Microsoft in the biggest ever batch of LGBT-inclusive Super Bowl adverts.
The Super Bowl 2020 commercials were well-populated with some of the biggest and brightest LGBT+ stars, including Ellen DeGeneres, Trace Lysette (Transparent, Hustlers) and Drag Race alumni Kim Chi and Miz Cracker.
A total of 11 LGBT-inclusive adverts aired during the game, which was watched by an estimated 100 million Americans and featured a dazzling half-time show by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.
Media monitoring organisation GLAAD said this represented a record high, with president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis hailing “the level of diverse LGBTQ inclusion during advertising’s biggest night, coupled with Katie Sowers’ trailblazing role on the field as offensive assistant coach of the 49ers” as a “rainbow wave”.
Lil Nas X starred in Doritos Super Bowl commercial.
https://youtu.be/Q6qchztaw9g
The 20-year-old rapper made his Super Bowl debut fresh off the back of his historic Grammys double-win.
For Doritos, Nas had a dance off with actor Sam Elliott to “Old Town Road” (what else?).
Katie Sowers celebrated her history-making Super Bowl in Microsoft advert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xPn4DXIj5w
As offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, Katie Sowers made history as the first woman and first lesbian to coach a team at the Super Bowl.
The 33-year-old celebrated her historic role in a clip for Microsoft, tracing her journey from a football-loving schoolchild to trailblazer.
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi wondered what we did before Alexa in Amazon Super Bowl commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9t2rFmTVE
Ellen DeGeneres and her wife gave us a peek inside their home for Amazon’s Super Bowl advert, which pondered what human-kind did before the rise of its virtual assistant, Alexa.
The 90-second clip goes back in time to answer the question, before signing off with DeGeneres’ favourite song, a jug version of Usher’s “Yeah!”
Jonathan Van Ness made over the pretzel in Pop Tarts’ Super Bowl commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k3yWV3I37A
The Queer Eye star gave America’s favourite snack a very special makeover, unveiling the Pop Tarts Pretzel.
While the snacks do, in fairness, look pretty delicious, we’re much more excited at a non-binary person being given such a huge platform.
Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris helped Budweiser ‘look past the labels’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-zXuAAD6Q
Married football players Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris made a brief appearance in Budweiser’s Super Bowl 2020 commercial, which carried a message of inclusivity and diversity.
The couple clinked Budweiser bottles, encouraging people to reconsider what it means to be a “typical American”.
Trans actors Trace Lysette and Isis King starred in TurboTax Super Bowl advert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7G4LppV5qA
Trace Lysette and Isis King joined forced to remind us that all people – including trans people – have to pay taxes.
The TurboTax advert was somewhat more joyful than this description would suggest, giving us a glimpse inside the ballroom.
Miz Cracker and Kim Chi swapped Drag Race for chick peas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2FIZn8UUu8
Kim Chi and Miz Cracker went where no drag queen has gone before, appearing in a Super Bowl commercials or hummus brand Sabra.
The 30-second clip aired despite a petition by the anti-LGBT+ pressure group One Million Moms, and squeezed in appearances by 17 other celebrities including Megan thee Stallion, T-Pain, Mel B, “Kombucha Gurl” Brittany Tomlinson and Real Housewives of New Jersey rivals Teresa Giudice and Caroline Manzo.
Olay’s Super Bowl advert featured bisexual YouTuber Lilly Singh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0Ll60FkLg
Lily Singh joined forces with actor Busy Philipps and astronaut Nicole Stott for “Operation Make Space For Women”.
Taraji P Henson also starred in the clip, which launches Olay’s campaign to support Girls Who Code.
Pansexual Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire celebrates in Tide commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPrLiNseyCc
Emily Hampshire – who recently came out as pansexual – swapped the front desk of the Rosebud Motel for a starry Super Bowl party.
The clip saw Hampshire (who plays Stevie in Schitt’s Creek) help Charlie Day figure out the best time for laundry.
Footballer Kelley O’Hara puts in the hard work for Under Armour Super Bowl ad.
Kelley O’Hara – who went viral in 2019 by kissing her girlfriend after winning the World Cup – was one of a number of sporting pros to appear in Under Armour’s commercial.
Tom Brady and Steph Curry also starred in the 30-second clip, which celebrated the pay-off that comes with hard work.
Rounding out the list of LGBT-inclusive Super Bowl adverts was a trailer for the rebooted Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, hosted by the out Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
