Atlanta ad man has commercial in Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is center stage for athletic talent, but some viewers think the big show happens during the commercials.

While corporations pay big bucks for 30 seconds of exposure, ad agencies go all out to get one of their creations onto the Super Bowl screen.

This year at least one Atlanta production house, a four-person outfit called Pogo Pictures, run by Druid Hills resident Steve Colby, has an ad airing during the big game.

On Sunday a 30-second Norwegian Cruise Lines spot created by Colby, with some editing from BBDO, will air either just before or just after half-time.

Colby, 54, didn’t find out about the last-minute ad buy until Friday at 6 p.m. He was understandably excited.

“They haven’t run a Super Bowl spot in 25 years,” he said of Norwegian Cruise Lines. “They decided it was testing so good, they made a last minute buy.”

The Norwegian ad will probably cost in the neighborhood of $5 million for a 30-second spot, said David Griner, creative and innovation editor at AdWeek.

Griner said a late-in-the-game ad buy isn’t that unusual. “They always have a small number of last-minute buys.”

The ad, called “Good to Be Free,” shows images of Norwegian Cruise Line customers having fun, while a remixed version of Andy Grammer’s “Good to Be Alive” percolates in the background.

This year’s ad won’t be the first time Colby’s had his work on the Super Bowl stage.

In 2013 he co-directed a Doritos ad featuring a goat snacking on corn chips. It became a hit. Created with fellow Pogo director Ben Callner, the "Goat 4 Sale" ad was one of two chosen by Doritos from 3,000 ads submitted by amateur and independent agencies as part of the "Crash the Super Bowl" competition.

It seemed to inspire a raft of goat ads and memes, including a fire-breathing goat ad from the Georgia Lottery.

Oddly enough, another goat-related commercial will air in regional markets during Super Bowl 53. Get Your Goat Rentals of Roswell will be featured in an ad sponsored by Head & Shoulders. Their goats chow down on weeds and underbrush in private yards and public parks.

Colby and Callner’s goat ad went on to win honors. The Independent named it (along with Apple’s notorious “1984” ad) among the 10 most unforgettable Super Bowl ads of all time.

Sadly, Moose, Colby’s pet goat, who made his television debut in “Goat 4 Sale,” died less than a year after the spot aired.

Colby credits Moose with inspiring a more flexible camera style, as well as offering some life lessons. “Moose taught me you’ve got to loosen up. You can’t let things bother you.”