‘Why not now?’ Kentucky highlights budding and former legends in new Super Bowl ad.
The University of Kentucky’s newest ad promoting its football program debuted during local telecasts of the 54th Super Bowl on Sunday night.
This year’s ad — the eighth to air in Mark Stoops’ tenure as head coach — was themed around legacy. It featured a number of former Wildcats and current players and coaches, as well as Tayden Lorenzen, son of the late UK quarterback and Kentucky native Jared Lorenzen.
The ad cost $30,000 to place in the Fox-56 broadcast of the Super Bowl, according to Guy Ramsey, UK’s director of strategic communication. UK purchased a minute’s worth of airtime during halftime, and it released an extended version of the spot — a minute and 24 seconds — on its official social media channels during the telecast.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Randall Cobb and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Benny Snell were among the ex-Cats who spoke in the spot. Lynn Bowden, who led Kentucky to an 8-5 campaign in 2019 and who will be a likely NFL draftee in April, was prominently featured as well.
UK recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow, who was linked to the head coach opening at Youngstown State University but on Friday publicly announced that he would not be leaving Kentucky this offseason, spoke in the ad in addition to UK co-offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and defensive coordinator Brad White. It was the first time that a coach outside of Mark Stoops had a speaking role in one of UK’s Super Bowl commercials.
Terry Wilson, Kentucky’s presumptive starting quarterback heading into next season after a knee injury ended his 2019 campaign two games into the season, ends the ad by answering a question posed by Stoops — “Why Kentucky?” — by calling on a phrase that has become a staple of the program’s marketing.
“Why not now?” Wilson said.
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 11:24 PM.
