How Super Bowl adverts featuring Sir Elton John, Will Ferrell, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez surprised fans
Sir Elton John, Will Ferrell and Hollywood power couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were among the celebrities who featured in this year’s star-studded Super Bowl advertisements.
Famous names from the film, television and music industries regularly feature in the commercials, which can reportedly cost up to £8.3 million ($10 million) for a 30-second slot.
Around 100 million people tune in to the Super Bowl each year.
This year’s half-time show was headlined by Rihanna, who performed a crowd-pleasing set of her biggest hits, while also revealing she was pregnant.
Read more:
Rihanna confirms second pregnancy at Super Bowl
Affleck and Lopez – often known collectively as ‘Bennifer’ by fans of the couple – appeared in an advertisement for coffee and bakery chain Dunkin’ Donuts.
The pair married last July almost 20 years after they were last together as a couple.
In the Super Bowl advert, Affleck is shown serving unsuspecting customers at a drive-thru before his wife makes a surprise visit.
“What are you doing here? Is this what you do when you say you’re going to work all day?” she asks him.
The advertisement follows viral photos of Affleck sheepishly picking up a Dunkin’ Donuts delivery from outside his home.
Elsewhere, Sir Elton John, 75, starred in a Doritos commercial with rapper Jack Harlow.
After “quitting” his rapping career in the advert, 24-year-old Harlow is shown building a new hugely successful reputation as a triangle player – only to be upstaged by legendary singer Sir Elton.
Elton John in a Doritos advert at the 2023 Super Bowl (Frito-Lay via AP)
Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper and John Travolta appeared in two separate commercials for phone company T-Mobile.
Travolta was joined by Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison, parodying the Summer Nights scene from the 1978 musical Grease.
Cooper starred in another T-Mobile commercial with his mother, in which he coaches her for their star appearance.
“I’ve been nominated for nine of these (Oscars),” he tells her. To which she responds: “But you haven’t won any of them.”
Bradley Cooper and his mother Gloria Campano in the T-Mobile 2023 Super Bowl advertisement (T-Mobile via AP)
In an advert for GMC cars, Will Ferrell was seen parodying several popular Netflix shows including The Walking Dead, Bridgerton and Stranger Things.
Will Ferrell drives a GMC Sierra EV Denali as he is chased by zombies in a 2023 Super Bowl ad (Netflix/GM via AP)
Several celebrities reprised their legendary roles for the commercials which premiered during breaks in the Super Bowl action.
They included Ben Stiller, who returned as dim-witted male model Derek Zoolander in a Pepsi advert alongside Steve Martin.
And Alicia Silverstone reprised her role as Clueless character Cher Horowitz in her iconic checked yellow jacket and skirt for online shopping site Rakuten.
Alicia Silverstone in a scene from Rakuten Rewards’ 2023 Super Bowl ad (Rakuten Rewards via AP)
Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston also reprised their Breaking Bad characters for snack brand PopCorners.
Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston and Raymond Cruz in the PopCorners 2023 Super Bowl NFL ad (Frito-Lay via AP)
Read more:
History’s most memorable Super Bowl moments
Rock icons Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Billy Idol and Kiss guitar player Paul Stanley also gathered for the first Super Bowl advertisement for enterprise software company Workday.
Musician Ozzy Osbourne takes part in a Super Bowl ad for Workday (Workday via AP)
While tennis superstar Serena Williams joined Succession star Brian Cox on the golf course for beer brand Michelob Ultra.
Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalised following a car crash in New Hampshire, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said.
Mr Giuliani suffered “a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg” when his vehicle was struck from behind while driving on a highway near Manchester on Saturday evening, according to Michael Ragusa, Mr Giuliani’s head of security.
“He sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Mr Ragusa said in a statement on X, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”
Mr Giuliani was in a rental car and “no one knew it was him”, according to Mr Ragusa.
His head of security said the 81-year-old had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident” and contacted police on her behalf. The crash shortly after was “random and unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Mr Ragusa said.
Rudy Giuliani attended Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via Reuters
Mr Giuliani, who worked as an attorney for Donald Trump in his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
His son, Andrew Giuliani, thanked people for reaching out after hearing about his father’s accident, writing on X: “Your prayers mean the world.”
“As a son, I can tell you that I’m honored to have a Dad that I can call the toughest SOB I’ve ever seen,” he added.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
US
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
Read more from Sky News:
Analysis: Israel is killing a lot of journalists
Hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by malnutrition cases
Tony Blair meets Trump over Gaza
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment11 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024