• by Danielle Oster , December 16, 2024

Mountain Dew is returning to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year in 2025, but the celebrity duo from 2024’s spot will be staying on the bench.

A representative for the PepsiCo brand confirmed that Aubrey Plaza and Nick Offerman won’t be featured or involved in Mountain Dew’s 2025 Super Bowl ad. They also confirmed agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) as the creative agency behind the brand’s big game ad.

“No stranger to the Super Bowl, this marks Mountain Dew’s seventh time as an advertiser, encouraging friends to have a damn good time and enjoy a refreshing Mountain Dew as they cheer on their favorite team during football season,” the brand said in a statement.

Last year, Mountain Dew returned to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2021’s big game ad featuring John Cena promoting its Major Melon flavor (now set to be discontinued early next year).

In 2023, Plaza starred in “Having a Blast,” which played on her sardonic persona navigating a variety of scenarios where she claimed to be “having a blast” before she was reunited with fellow “Parks & Rec” alum Nick Offerman.

The brand didn’t respond to a question asking for clarification as to whether this year’s ad would promote Mountain Dew’s Baja Blast flavors, which PepsiCo  introduced as a widely available, year-round part of the brand’s roster in early 2024.

This year’s ad is more likely to revolve around the master brand, and could act as a launching pad for Mountain Dew’s major brand refresh. In October, Mountain Dew introduced a new logo and refreshed visual identity ahead of its 75th anniversary. PepsiCo is planning for a wide rollout of the new logo and visual brand identity next summer, with the first packaging featuring the refresh arriving in stores as early as May.

Mountain Dew’s new character, “The Mountain Dude” could also play a central role — likely either played by or interacting with a celebrity chosen for their appeal to a broad Super Bowl audience. (Perhaps “The Dude” Jeff Bridges himself” could make an appearance, since the character is very clearly inspired by the actor’s role in the 1998 Coen brothers film “The Big Lebowski.”)  Mountain Dew introduced “The Mountain Dude” in a “Welcome to Mountain Time” campaign launched this past August, which saw the brand laying claim to the Mountain Time Zone.