Nerdiest Big Game Ad Trend? Spoofing Flashdance!

Which brand will take home the 2024 Super Clio for the best Super Bowl commercial? We’ll find out on Feb. 12.

Flashdance—the cheesy, synth-drenched 1983 box-office smash—is having a Super Bowl moment here in 2024.

Yesterday, we saw Jason Momoa goof on the flick’s famous water-dance routine for T-Mobile’s Big Game commercial. The film’s star, Jennifer Beals, even made a cameo.

Now, Nerds candy and Digitas Chicago present a decidedly less buff performer’s wiggly, jiggly version of the same sequence:

That was … hot?

TikTok dancer and influencer Addison Rae—born 17 years after Flashdance hit theaters—appears to approve, popping some Nerds Gummy Clusters at the end with a brand-boosting smile.

“Flashdance … What a Feeling,” the movie’s main theme, plays into both the Nerds and T-Mobile commercials. That exposure might just send Irene Cara’s track shimmying back up the charts, à la “Running Up That Hill,” the ’80s tune from Kate Bush that earned props from a new generation after it featured in Stranger Things.

Nostalgia almost always sells. The pre-Internet variety can prove especially potent, appealing to mature demos while bringing newbies into the fold.

CLICK HERE to watch all of this year’s Super Bowl commercials as they’re released.