Duracell’s Super Bowl Shock: Commercial Shows Tom Brady Running Out of Power

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Battery giant Duracell hoped for a Super Bowl shock Sunday when it tied its well-known power units to Tom Brady, the famous quarterback who is capping off a first season as an NFL announcer for Fox.

A commercial for the Procter & Gamble storage cell makes viewers think they have returned to the Big Game from an ad break, with Fox Sports’ Brady and his on-air partner, Kevin Burkhardt, talking to viewers about the action. “All right, Tom, your thoughts?” asks Burkhardt.

Before Brady can get out a single word, he appears to shut down. Within seconds, a “Duracell Scientist” appears on the scene and immediately diagnoses the problem: Someone has powered Brady with non-descript batteries, and “winners like Tom here only run on Duracell.” The quarterback’s inner machinery says he also likes blueberry smoothies, avocado and lemon, but it’s Duracell that gets Brady back to full power quickly.

Duracell is counting on the Brady connection, says Ramon Velutini, president of the business in the U.S. and Latin America. Sports fans and pundits have been weighing in all season on his sportscasting abilities in this first year on the job at Fox, he says, and the commercial plays off that chatter. “Everyone’s going to be watching Brady.