An ant-sized hero is getting a spot in the big game. Ad Age reports Paul Rudd will appear in character as Scott Lang/Ant-Man in what will be "the first non-alcoholic adult beverage to run a Super Bowl ad."
The 60-second spot for Heineken 0.0 is apparently a follow-up to a campaign that started with a 15-second ad that ran on January 9, during college bowl football games.
The ad features one of Scott Lang's six-legged friends bellying up to a bar, and looking at the bottle of the non-alcoholic bev and then the hero. "Oh, don't judge me, Anton," Rudd says in character, adding, "Look: Alcohol free." He's then distracted by an urgent email from the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, and rushes off, saying, "Back to work!"
The campaign is of course tied to the February 17 release of Marvel Studios' Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and features the legend: "Now You Can, Before Saving the Day!"
Scores of people are taking part in a so-called Dry January, but data shows the trend is expanding past this month. According to data from beverage industry analysis firm IWSR recently cited by Molson Coors and quoted by Ad Age, the non-alcoholic beverage category is expecting nearly 28% growth in the 21- to 24-year-old demographic by 2025.
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.