See MoonPie's Twisted Super Bowl Ad, Which Ran at Gas Stations Across America

MoonPie and its agency, Tombras, have done lots of fun stuff around the Super Bowl in recent years. 

Two years ago, they wrote nine absurd scripts for Super Bowl ads they would have aired, if they’d had the budget. Last year, they went ahead and shot three of those spots.

Now, for year three of what they’re calling #TheBigThing, they’ve finally aired a national spot. Well, kind of. The 80-second spot ran nationwide Sunday at gas stations across America, catching viewers as they were picking up snacks for the game. 

The ad features the family from last year’s ad who welcomed a MoonPie child to their brood. In a nice meta touch, the spot itself takes place partly as a gas station:

Gas station screens don’t normally host content nearly as fun as this. Tombras used GSTV’s data-driven, national video network, which reaches one in three Americans monthly at more than 22,000 fuel retailers across the country.

“This would seem like a crazy idea for most brands, but it’s perfect for MoonPie because it’s an ‘Outta This World’ creative idea and media placement,” says Dooley Tombras, president at Tombras. “Millions of consumers stop by gas station convenience stores on their way to parties or to stock up for their own gatherings. So not only did we finally make a TV spot for MoonPie, but we did it while making sure we were in the right place at the right time with a spot worthy of advertising’s biggest day.” 

“Living in New York City for nine years, where they have these baby gas stations, it had been a while since I’d been to a real American fuel stop,” adds Jeff Benjamin, chief creative officer at Tombras. “The innovation that’s taken place fueled our thinking, and made GSTV the perfect ‘Outta This World’ platform for our trilogy. What a fun way to keep this campaign running. I’m pumped.”

“When Tombras approached us, we immediately realized their idea was a stroke of genius—and not just because of the spot’s creative vision,” says Sean McCaffrey, president and CEO at GSTV. “Brands today know it’s increasingly difficult to find moments when consumer attention is truly focused, so with an unavoidably attention-grabbing spot, and a media buy that leverages the full scale and capabilities of GSTV, it’s the perfect way to stand out.”

The spot also ran in social media, where MoonPie has a large and devoted audience. Below, check out last year’s spot, “The Family,” which was a kind of prequel to this year’s. 

Happy commercial time here is the one called “The Family” and I hope it makes you want to buy one or more MoonPies #TheBigThing pic.twitter.com/3NgLMEythP

— MoonPie (@MoonPie) February 3, 2019