Now that we're officially into the new NFL season, there's some distance to reflect on how the last season ended. No, we're not talking about the Kansas City Chiefs winning another Super Bowl, we're talking about Creed showing up in a big game commercial.
If you don't recall — though, really, how could you forget? — frontman Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti were featured in an ad for Paramount+, which ended with them rocking out to "Higher" while Sir Patrick Stewart chucked the football-shaped head of the main character from Hey Arnold! into a mountain.
Speaking with ABC Audio, Stapp describes how the commercial came to be.
"They reached out, and of course we said yes," Stapp shares. "My reaction was, 'Wow! This is incredible! Of course, let's do it!' I just felt like it was just an incredible gift that kinda fell into our lap."
Stapp adds that he feels the opportunity to star in a Super Bowl commercial was "years in the making" and not just because of Creed's memorable 2001 Thanksgiving Day halftime performance.
"There had been a huge viral resurgence of Creed during COVID and 2021 and 2022 and in the first part of 2023," Stapp says.
Said resurgence, of course, led to Creed announcing their reunion, and they played their first shows together in over 10 years in April on the Summer of '99 concert cruise. They've since launched a full tour of sold-out dates.
"I hate to use the word 'surreal,' I use it too much," Stapp says. "But [it's] just so surreal how everything has just kinda come back around even bigger than it was, almost, when we ended."
Creed's tour continues Wednesday in Dallas.