Cetaphil US/YouTube Screenshot from Cetaphil's "Game Time Glow" ad.
A TikTok content creator is asking for credit for the idea behind Cetaphil’s sweet, Swiftie-inspired Super Bowl commercial about a father-daughter bond.
In response to the already-viral spot, titled “Game Time Glow,” TikTokker Sharon Mbabazi claimed the idea was ripped from her content on the video-sharing platform and questioned why she wasn’t given credit. In addition, her stepfather issued a response to the ad.
“Game Time Glow” which will air in some U.S. markets when the Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers on February 11, 2024.
Here’s what you need to know:
Cetaphil’s Ad Shows a Father and Daughter Bonding Over a Football Game
In a commercial set to air during Super Bowl LVIII, a teen girl appears engrossed in her phone as her dad watches a football game on TV. After the father tries to update his daughter on the game, she ignores him and sits at her vanity to apply moisturizer to her face.
The girl only jumps up when she hears the TV announcer say, “Well folks, there she is to support him…the most famous fan of the game.” The not-so-cryptic reference appears to be to Taylor Swift’s support of her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. The girl in the commercial walks over to the TV to watch. Her dad later gives her a red football jersey with the number 13 on it (Swift’s favorite number). The father playfully dabs some moisturizer under his eyes in football player fashion before he leaves the room.
The Swiftie references are fully solidified with a shot of the father and daughter snuggling on the couch while wearing friendship bracelets. The beaded bracelets have been popular during Swift’s Eras tour. A caption pops up that reads, “This season, dads and daughters found a new way to connect.”
Cetaphil shared the video to Instagram with the caption, “To the daughters who love skincare, to the dads who love football. We invite you to bond over the Big Game. #GameTimeGlow.”
According to Ad Age the commercial was created by the ad agency Lippe Taylor and directed by /prompt. It features a real father and daughter from New York.
Lippe Taylor executive creative director Alex Foster told Medical Marketing + Media that the insight into fathers and daughters bonding over football came from Instagram. He noted dads posted about their daughters’ newfound interest in the NFL due to Taylor Swift’s presence at Kelce’s games. “We’ve found a lot of teenage girls who are starting to connect with their dads at the toughest point in their relationship,” Foster said. “Suddenly, it’s opened up this opportunity for dads to ask questions about their lives.”
Sharon Mbabazi Posted Similar TikToks in Fall 2023
The “Game Time Glow” ad debuted on YouTube on February 9, 2024. It is already being widely praised on social media.
But in a series of posts on TikTok, content creator Sharon Mbabazi compared the ad to videos she posted with her stepfather last fall. “Cetaphil legit coped the TikToks I made with my stepdad back in September,” she alleged. “Y’all could have at least given me some credit. What’s up?”
Mbabazi noted that the Cetaphil ad features a mixed-race girl with a white dad, while she is a Black girl with a white stepfather. She noted that the girl in the ad is doing skincare at her vanity and her “white dad walks in.”
In September 2023, Mbabazi posted a TikTok that showed her at her vanity. In the video, her stepfather walked in to rattle off football stats relating to Taylor Swift. She posted a similar clip in which her stepfather put skincare patches under his eyes.
Mbabazi said at first, she considered the similarities could have been a coincidence. But she changed her mind after seeing the dad in the ad put skincare under his eyes.
Mbabazi’s stepdad also commented on the situation in a February 2024 TikTok. “That’s a beautiful story that you have, and your commercial is going to be on the Super Bowl,” he said. “But it’s our story. Beautiful content…but my daughter made the content.” He also called for his stepdaughter to be given credit for the idea.
Heavy has reached out to Mbabazi and Lippe Taylor for comment.
READ NEXT: See Alicia Silverstone’s Rakuten Super Bowl Commercial