Attention Pokmon fans: Now you have to watch the Super Bowl if you really want to catch em all.
Thats because the seemingly unstoppable monster-training franchise which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year is making its presence known at this years Big Game with an appropriately huge commercial. Sorry, Amy and Sethseems like your Super Bowl spot just got served.
On Monday, an extended version of the spot premiered on YouTube, and it makes the case that Pokmon truly is our global game. We see trainers around the world honing their skills speed, quick thinking, etc before competing in a massive arena, where creatures like Charizard, Magneton and Gyarados do battle while Pikachu watches from the comfort of a couch. If none of that makes any sense, then youll definitely be the guy asking, Wait, Pokmon is still a thing? on Super Sunday.
According to Ad Age, this is the first-ever Pokmon Super Bowl commercial, and it features plenty of hidden references that only the most tireless of trainers will catch: The lyrics to the Pokmon theme song, for example, appear on the top of a locker room door.
A 30-second version of the ad will air during the third quarter of Super Bowl 50, and is part of a year-long campaign to mark the franchises 20th anniversary. According to reports, a 30-second spot during the Big Game might cost advertisers as much as $5 million. Apparently, Ash Ketchum can afford it.
Super Bowl 50 airs February 7 on CBS.