Super Bowl LX: 16 Brand Activations That Took Over San Francisco’s Piers and Hot Spots -

Our firsthand take on 16 events, concerts and pop-ups during Super Bowl LX

Walking around San Francisco ahead of Super Bowl LX, you wouldn’t have known the Bay Area was hosting the NFL’s championship game that saw the Seattle Seahawks win over the New England Patriots on Feb. 8.

The sports spirit was minimal—a few NFL banners hanging outside of bars or fans repping San Francisco 49ers jerseys. Unless you hung out by the piers or hit the Moscone Center for the Super Bowl Experience, the city moved like any other day… with a lot of extra traffic.

Still, when we made it to the brand activations at tourist hot spots and Fisherman’s Wharf, the fans and passersby were enthusiastic about jumping into games, snapping photos and getting free samples. A lucky few saw an NFL star briefly climb in and out of a black SUV or stop into a pop-up for meet-and-greets. We even came across an ESPN live broadcast at Sue Bierman Park.

Plus, with Levi’s Stadium located in Santa Clara, CA, brands took the opportunity to activate across the entire Bay Area, from Oakland to San Jose. We mostly stayed in San Francisco and covered a lot of ground over two days (10 miles of walking per day) to see as much as we could. From Levi’s Home Turf to Old Spice’s Unrivaled Freshness Experience, let’s take a look at the action.

BAHC Super Bowl LX Innovation Summit

The Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC), in partnership with the NFL and presenting partner YouTube, hosted the BAHC Super Bowl LX Innovation Summit on Feb. 6 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. About 600 attendees gathered for mainstage keynotes, breakout panels and immersive presentations from YouTube and premier partner Dolby. (Agency: BeCore)

In addition to participating in the CXO Spotlight Series, Meta activated two booths in the museum showcasing its Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses and Oakley Meta AI glasses. Brand ambassadors led us through interactive tests of its products, activated by voice commands and hand gestures, and after trying a few pairs on, we snapped a photo that was printed onto a sticker.

Bud Light Presents Post Malone & Buddies Concert

Bud Light teamed up with Post Malone for another Super Bowl concert that featured a few of the singer’s “Buddies,” including T-Pain and Quavo. The event took place on the evening of Feb. 6 at Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion, which was completely transformed with neon blue Bud Light branding, bars, couch seating areas, beer served from the beds of blue pickup trucks, and several vignettes.

Fans could take photos in a comfy living room scene with Post Malone art and inspired décor, drink beers while sitting in folding chairs in a tool-filled garage (à la “Big Men on Cul-De-Sac” from last year’s Super Bowl TV spot), and play pool or pinball in a carpeted game room. (Agency: Weber Shandwick, p.r.)

Captain Morgan’s Cross-country Tailgate

Captain Morgan took a bicoastal approach to its Super Bowl LX campaign, launching a full-scale, football tailgate takeover in Gainesville, FL, that featured EDM duo TWINSICK, signature Captain Morgan cocktails and on-the-ground challenges. Over on the West Coast, the Official Spiced Rum of Super Bowl LX partnered with NBC’s “On Brand with Jimmy Fallon,” inviting the competition series’ contestants to pitch creative campaign ideas to brand executives.

The winning concept, “Speak Your Spice, Earn Your Stache,” came to life outside Levi’s Stadium at the NFL Gameday Experience tailgate and on the streets of San Francisco. Captain Morgan’s massive 40-foot boat drew in fans 21 and older for interactive games, surprise challenges and cocktail samples. (Agency: Taylor, p.r.)

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Photo credit: Captain Morgan

Cutwater Spirits’ Pop-up Bar

Just outside the Ferry Building, Cutwater Spirits popped up a blue shipping container that was transformed into a bar. In addition to the build, marquee signage and a patio seating area had passersby stop in on the sunny, breezy day. At a Cocktail Bar extension, brand ambassadors distributed samples and branded totes. (Agency: Turnkey)

Don Julio’s ‘Ready P’al Show’ Trolley

On Feb. 7, Don Julio continued its “Ready P’al Show” campaign from its Cardi B-headlined party the night before by taking over a trolley. While cruising around the city, riders were treated to a mobile dj set by Diplo before ending at a well-known Mission District taquería for a live set, cocktails and tacos. (Agency: Hunter, p.r.)

Photo credit: Getty Images; UVT Agency

Levi’s Home Turf

With its headquarters in San Francisco, and as the holder of the naming rights to the 49ers’ stadium, Levi’s activated an experiential campaign that welcomed football fans to its hometown. Home Turf popped up at One Montgomery in San Francisco’s financial district, Feb. 5-7, and presented product collabs, music performances by Bay Area rapper LaRussel and a marching band, the Tiny Desk Experience, a Wear Longer Project panel and workshop, and an Empire Records music exhibition.

Five local Levi’s stores also hosted activations. A branded Airstream housing The Levi’s Tailor Shop anchored the Levi’s Plaza experience outside its corporate office. Consumers could get their purchases tailored or customized with buttons and patches. The 49ers cheerleaders visited the Airstream for photos. Other stores featured football displays, and local artist Apex created several murals around town for Levi’s. (Agency: Moment)

Photos: Courtesy of Levi’s

More Super Bowl LX Coverage:

Marriott Bonvoy’s ‘Suite’ Events

“Pitch Perfect” star Adam Devine, Marriott Bonvoy’s Fanbassador, surprised fans at the Ferry Building on Feb. 4 with an a cappella performance alongside NFL stars George Kittle, Jordan Mailata and Bijan Robinson, as well as professional vocal group Fundamentally Sound. Performing as “The Golden Keys,” the group sang a playful, riff-off-inspired rendition before selecting the winner of the 10^th annual Marriott Bonvoy Super Bowl Sleepover Suite that gave a lucky fan the opportunity to wake up inside Levi’s Stadium on gameday.

On Feb. 6, Marriott Bonvoy House presented by Visa took over The San Francisco Mint offering Marriott Bonvoy members and Visa guests an elevated Super Bowl kickoff celebration. Attendees could pop into the photo studio for professional shots, get personalized luggage tags, and enjoy “a taste of the bay” and sips of Cable Car Cocktail and Golden Coast Heatwave across the historic venue’s many rooms. The evening’s showstopper was a performance from The All-American Rejects, but even after the concert ended, attendees kept dancing the night away. (Agency: 160over90)

Photo credits: Peter Barreras/AP Content Services for Marriott Bonvoy (a cappella performance); Juanita Chavarro Arias (Marriott Bonvoy House)

Nike x Dick’s Sporting Goods

Over in Daly City, CA, Nike brought its Chase the Smoke campaign to Dick’s Sporting Goods for a two-day podcast and product experience. From Feb. 6-7, daily store activations included Nike apparel personalization with patches and vinyls, gaming in the Madden Lounge, a branded photo booth and athlete appearances.

The lounge was converted into an in-store podcast studio with bench seating for a live audience, and four podcast recording sessions took place throughout the weekend, including the New York Giants’ “Her Playbook” podcast, “The Schultz Report” podcast, and a podcast hosted by sports reporter and ESPN analyst Kendra Andrews. (Agency: Tara Wilson Agency)

Photo credits: Juanita Chavarro Arias; Tara Wilson Agency/Whitten Media (onstage session)

Old Spice’s Unrivaled Freshness Experience

Embarcadero Plaza was packed with fans waiting in line for freshness. Open Feb. 5-7, Old Spice’s Unrivaled Freshness Experience was housed inside a 53-foot double expandable trailer, and the branding all over the vehicle enticed passersby to ask, “What is this for?” Attendees snapped photos with an oversized deodorant and branded lockers.

When we arrived on the scene, the experience was temporarily closed as 49ers tight end George Kittle made his way through. He then emerged, along with the Old Spice Man, Isaiah Mustafa, and took the time to meet fans. (Build: Lime Media)

PepsiCo’s Sampling and Challenges

At Pier 39 in Fisherman’s Wharf, Feb. 6-8, PepsiCo returned to the Super Bowl with its signature Pepsi Challenge experience and added an interactive tailgating game that invited fans to test their strength against other players by pushing tackle sleds. A large screen tracked the leaderboard and displayed participants’ progress for onlookers to cheer on.

Tostitos drew buzz with its branded food delivery robots that roamed the pier with chip bags. A special touch, NFL players interacted with fans as the robot. The Tostitos Fiesta Zone sampling stand also served up chip dishes and salsa. (Agency: New Creatures)

Smirnoff’s We Do Game Days Trolley Ride

As the culmination of its NFL season campaign, We Do Game Days, that dropped limited-edition merch giveaways, Smirnoff transformed a trolley into a daylong fashion-driven experience that took influencers, brand guests and media on a ride through the city with surprise stops along the way. First, we gathered at Italian restaurant Morella, where Smirnoff took over half the space and splashed it with football-themed brand items, including foam fingers, towels, beaded necklaces and mini footballs.

Then, the trolley transported us to a site near the Golden Gate Bridge for a Smirnoff pop-up, where the stage was set for officially licensed NFL designer Aleali May to unveil her custom, Smirnoff-commissioned varsity jacket that was gifted to the grand prize sweepstakes winner in attendance. The group then boarded the bus to continue on to a tour of San Francisco bars. (Read more about our Smirnoff Trolley experience.) (Agency: Taylor, p.r.)

Starter x NFL Shop

Sports apparel brand Starter collaborated with the NFL on a four-day pop-up shop in Union Square that featured Super Bowl LX products in the front, customization stations in the center and a content studio in the back. At the Starter Lab, consumers could personalize their Starter jackets with patches of their favorite NFL teams, vintage Starter logos and exclusive branding elements.

After its debut at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Starter Live returned as an in-store podcast studio with sessions running during store hours. Podcast guests included Jim Weiss, Adam “Pacman” Jones and T.J. Ward. We were lucky enough to run into Sean Paul on our visit to the shop.

Starter also had a presence inside the Super Bowl Experience’s NFL Shop presented by Visa. Like last year, the brand themed its store footprint to the host city and stationed a Starter trolley photo op in the center. (Agency: Wanderlust Public Relations, p.r.)

The One Party by Uber

Down at Pier 48, Uber went with a gold-drenched homecoming theme for The One Party to kick off Super Bowl weekend on Feb. 6. Cheerleaders, lockers, trophies and oversized foam fingers created tons of photo moments, and attendees enjoyed performances by Shaboozey and Olivia Dean. (Agency: David Stark Design and Production)

U.S. Bank’s Gridiron Bus

U.S. Bank partnered with nonprofit Hoopbus on its Pier 39 activation, from Feb. 5-7, that saw 49ers legends, players and cheerleaders visit The Gridiron Bus. Fans lined up for a chance to throw a football through targets on top of the bus to win prizes.

X Football City Diner

X converted the Fog City Diner into the futuristic X Football City Diner on Feb. 6 to show invitees how fans engage with sports and live games on the social media platform. The exclusive “Creator Panel: The Future of Fandom” brought together moderator Monique Pintarelli, head of global advertising at X, and speakers Adam Schefter, senior NFL insider at ESPN; Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals tight end; and Julie Lee, director-brand and sports marketing at Lowe’s, to discuss fandom and leveraging the platform to reach audiences.

Attendees enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and craft cocktails like the Early Meeting Espresso Martini and Neural Heat Margarita at the “Grocktail Party.” Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots were also on-site to interact with attendees, and one handed out embroidered caps and posed for photos.

Xfinity x Lyft

Comcast’s Xfinity made its Super Bowl debut with an ad that reimagines the world of “Jurassic Park,” but that same movie spirit hit San Francisco ahead of the Big Game in the form of a T. rex billboard on Market Street, a dinosaur projection on the Hobart Building and “Jurassic Park”-wrapped Lyft vehicles that drove around the city all week. (Agency: Carmichael Lynch)