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News | 2 min read

Record 26 VCU Brandcenter alumni worked on Super Bowl ads

February 6, 2020

Theย VCU Brandcenter, a graduate program for advertising and branding in Richmond, Va., is a breeding ground for future Super Bowl commercial makers. Most people in the advertising industry work their whole careers without ever having the chance to work on a Super Bowl spot. This year, a record 26 Brandcenter alumni worked on 18 of the most talked about Super Bowl ads.

โ€œOur alumni are the creative minds behind some of the biggest brands in the world,โ€ said Vann Graves, executive director ofย Brandcenter. โ€œWeโ€™re proud to see such a huge number of Brandcenter alums behind the scenes of the biggest media event of the year.โ€

When something is declared the โ€œbest thing since sliced bread,โ€ where does that leave the bread?

Thatโ€™s the premise behind Little Caesarsโ€™ first Super Bowl ad, which aired during the game. The spot features Rainn Wilson as an executive at Sliced Bread Headquarters who is distraught over Little Caesarsโ€™ new delivery service being compared to his product.

โ€œSliced bread is toast,โ€ exclaims a newscaster to Wilsonโ€™s chagrin.

While the creatives atย McKinney Durhamย deserve the credit for developing and creating the ad, it wouldnโ€™t have been possible if Little Caesars hadnโ€™t been all in, said Will Dean, the adโ€™s co-creative director with Lyle Yetman, with whom he often partnered as Virginia Commonwealth Universityย Brandcenterย classmates.

โ€œOur clients at Little Caesars were some of the smartest and best people to work with because they take risks,โ€ Dean said. โ€œWe’re just really proud to have them as a client. They enable us to do our best work because we’re aligned with them really well.โ€

Read the full story here.