The star of this year’s Yellow Tail Super Bowl ad is Roopert, an animatronic kangaroo.
Yellow Tail is the first wine brand to air an ad during the Super Bowl in 40 years, and the 30-second regional spot will make its television debut in the first half of the game. The commercial features Roopert and the ‘Yellow Tail Guy’, clad in a yellow suit, as they show off Yellow Tail wine at a rooftop party, a barbecue, and at the beach.
According to USA Today, Anheuser-Busch has exclusive category commercial rights for the Super Bowl, so Yellow Tail decided to buy local ads in 70 TV markets. Tom Steffanci, the president of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, U.S. importer and marketer of the Australian wine told USA Today, “It’s easier to complete the American Ninja Warrior obstacle course than it is to buy a Yellow Tail Super Bowl ad… It took eight months, but we did navigate it.”
Crazy! @yellowtail_aust is the 1st 🍷 brand to air #SuperBowl ad in almost 40 yrs t.co/I3YRr82WK6
Ellie Gonsalves is the Australian model featured in Yellow Tail’s commercial, and she can be seen wearing a white bikini in the Tweet above. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Gonsalves moved to the US in 2015. By the time she settled down in Los Angeles, she had already been featured on the cover of Maxim Magazine three times, and had worked with famed Australian labels like Lorna Jane and Bras N Things.
In an exclusive interview with Heavy.com, Gonsalves revealed that she was found by Yellow Tail when they were looking for an Australian to be part of the spot. “They were looking for someone who they felt would be a good representative of the brand and Australia – and they chose me! I feel really honored, this is a huge deal for me, I grew up in Brisbane, Australia… and now this is going to be seen by 85+ million people around the world!” Ellie added on that the commercial is part of Yellow Tail’s new campaign, “Let’s Yellow Tail”, which “shows the fun side of wine and embodies what this brand is all about.”
The agency behind the ad, Burns Group, has worked with ChapStick, Post, Ricola, Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Advil, and many other companies to “find ways to interweave strategy, design and technology to create meaningful connections between people and brands.”