When it comes to crafting a Super Bowl, brands have to get pretty damn creative to capture the viewer's attention, with the boldest ideas getting the biggest reward. This year, Walmart did exactly that by making their ad a tribute to some of the biggest science fiction blockbusters of the last 40 years.
The ad begins with a host of iconic spacefarers descending on Walmart to pick up their big blue bags. The U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek and the Benatar from Guardians of the Galaxy swoop into the atmosphere, as do Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, and Flash Gordon himself (with Sam J. Jones reprising his famous role).
Other characters swooping in to collect their grocery orders include the miniature heroes of The Lego Movie, and the aliens from Men in Black, Mars Attacks! and Arrival. Meanwhile, C-3PO and R2D2 get lost on their way to the store, just as they did at the very beginning of the Star Wars franchise in 1977.
The pièce de résistance of the ad, though, is the moment that brings together a present-day Bill from the Bill & Ted movies with a CGI rendition of his younger self, which was created using existing footage and audio of actor Alex Winter. Not only does it fit neatly into the commercial's theme of paying homage to sci-fi movies, it's also a timely reminder to audiences that an older (but no less excellent) Bill and Ted will be returning to the big screen very soon.
The whole thing is a clear love letter to the genre, and all of its disparate elements are brought together with meticulous attention to detail. For instance, it is only raining directly over the flying car from Blade Runner, in keeping with that film's gloomy aesthetic. And as any Trekkie will tell you, it's far easier to beam the groceries aboard than it is to land the Enterprise in a Walmart parking lot.
