Overview of GaryVee on how to make Super Bowl ads that are actually funny
This Masters of Scale / WaitWhat short interview features Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee) at Super Bowl week in San Francisco. Gary walks through the strategy behind a provocative Raisin Bran Super Bowl spot (featuring William Shatner and a poop/fiber angle), explains why social-first thinking now outperforms traditional TV alone, forecasts how AI and live social shopping will reshape marketing, and gives blunt career advice to young people entering an AI-disrupted job market.
Key takeaways
- Use the Super Bowl to amplify a bold insight: Gary’s Raisin Bran spot links fiber to “poop” in a way that’s culturally obvious, attention-grabbing, and strategically defensible for that category.
- Social is not a secondary channel anymore — it’s the place to use many creative variations, target specific cohorts, measure fast, and iterate. Gary likens the plan to “throwing the ball 41 times” — many purposeful social plays around one TV moment.
- TV remains broad and expensive; social allows low-cost multivariate testing and targeted messaging so brands can avoid being “vanilla” to everyone.
- Market pain (competition from nimble challengers like Liquid Death and Prime) forces legacy brands to adopt social-first tactics; change accelerates when brands feel real competitive pressure.
- AI-generated ads are already effective and cheaper, but stigma and fear may delay large brands adopting AI at scale in high-profile spots like the Super Bowl.
- Live social shopping (the “QVC-ification” of social) is a major near-term opportunity — China’s massive market shows the upside. Platforms and startups (TikTok Shop, Whatnot, Twitch live shopping, District) will grow this space.
- Career advice for grads: be humble, work for less (or free) to get as close as possible to the thing you want to do; proximity and experience beat immediate high pay.
Topics discussed
- Raisin Bran Super Bowl creative concept (Will Shatner, fiber/pooping angle)
- Creative risk and contingency planning in celebrity-driven ads
- Social “surround sound” strategy: multiple targeted social assets around one TV spot
- Comparison: TV vs social — reach, cost, iteration, targeting
- How challenger brands force incumbents to change strategy
- AI in ad creation: effectiveness, pricing, stigma, timeline for adoption
- Live social commerce and platforms to watch
- Practical advice for young professionals in the era of AI
Notable quotes / insights
- “We're going to throw the ball 41 times this Sunday… we're running 41 social media ads with purpose.” — on treating social like a series of planned plays, not experiments.
- “When you start to feel pain… you shape up.” — on why legacy brands finally change.
- “For the next three to five years, the big companies aren't going to do it [AI ads] because we keep yelling at them… we're all scared we’re going to lose our jobs.” — on the political/stigma barrier to AI at scale.
- Career advice: “Go work for as little as possible… get close to the thing.”
Practical recommendations (for CMOs and marketers)
- Treat a Super Bowl spot as a catalyst — plan many targeted social executions to extend and magnify the message.
- Invest in social creative and measurement infrastructure so you can produce many low-cost versions and learn quickly.
- Use social testing to gather quantitative and qualitative data; be willing to pivot based on what resonates.
- Prepare to incorporate AI where it makes economic sense, but account for consumer sentiment and PR risk in high-visibility placements.
- Build or test live shopping experiences — pilot with small experiments to learn the commerce funnel on social platforms.
- If your brand category is being attacked by challengers, move faster: pain accelerates change.
Risks & challenges highlighted
- High-profile ads carry reputational and operational risk (celebrity availability/health, current events — e.g., past ad changes after Kobe’s death).
- TV is costly and slow to iterate; one broad big-budget spot can dilute relevance.
- AI-generated creative can perform but may trigger consumer backlash if used incautiously in mass media.
- Large platforms are distracted by AI development, which can slow their commerce product rollouts.
Who should read/listen to this episode
- CMOs and marketing leaders planning big-event campaigns (Super Bowl or otherwise)
- Creative teams designing multi-channel ad strategies
- Growth and social media managers focused on performance creative and testing
- Founders/marketers exploring live social commerce opportunities
- Students and early-career professionals deciding how to break into competitive industries
Episode context & credits
- Host/producer: WaitWhat / Masters of Scale
- Executive producer: Eve Trough; senior producer: Trisha Bobita; associate producer: Masha Macotanina
- Mixing/mastering: Aaron Bastinelli, Brian Pew; original music: Ryan Holiday
- Visit mastersofscale.com for the full episode transcript and newsletter.