Believe it or not, there's at least one Super Bowl ad you haven't already seen — one that finds Ricky Gervais running from an explosion as "Weeds" star Mary-Louise Parker indulges in her love of horticulture.
Unlike many companies that unveiled their ads in the week before tonight's game, Time Warner Cable is — get this — holding its big Super Bowl ad until the actual Super Bowl. But it has released quick snippets teasing the 60-second spot.
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The first preview finds Gervais in action-hero mode, running from an explosion. (Spoiler alert: In the actual ad, he gets a grenade lobbed his way after he turns down a Facebook friend request.)
Another preview finds Parker holding a plant that looks not unlike the one her character sells on "Weeds:
Both ads end with the tagline, "Enjoy Better." They're part of a campaign by Time Warner Cable to remind customers of the company's full range of services — from broadband to apps — besides just cable. The final version of the ad will invite viewers to "enjoy" Showtime, Netflix, ESPN, and Facebook "better."
The idea is to make viewers think of Time Warner Cable as a means to popular services, so customers won't just focus on "the occasional experience of having cable installed, upgraded or fixed," Ogilvy North America CEO John Seifert told The New York Times this week. The campaign is by Ogilvy & Mather North America.
"There’s also a challenge here," he said. "Let’s not let the brand, the business, be defined by a negative experience from the so-called cable guy."
The ads for the country's second largest cable provider — after Comcast — will air in local Time Warner Cable markets, the Times reported.