Popeyes' First-Ever Super Bowl Ad Is Officially Here

Popeyes' first-ever Super Bowl ad will air during the game this Sunday — but you can watch an extended version right now, ahead of the big game (click the image above to watch). You won't even get flagged for a false start.

The ad stars comedian Ken Jeong playing Howie, a man who cryogenically froze himself in 1972 to wait for the perfect chicken wing. Howie reenters the world to discover a better wing has finally been brought to fruition by Popeyes, declaring his first meal in 52 years crispy and juicy. He also finds the advances of the past 50 years somewhat overwhelming, but at least he has five flavors of Popeyes wings in steady supply to help him through the shock.

Sami Siddiqui, President of Popeyes U.S. & Canada, says, "Ken Jeong is a comedic genius who really makes this commercial a lot of fun to watch." The ad was directed by Calmatic, best known for the 2023 remakes of "House Party," and "White Men Can't Jump," and the award-winning "Old Town Road" music video for Lil Nas X. This ad isn't his first Super Bowl spot; he also directed the catchy 2020 Turbo Tax ad, "All People Are Tax People."

The Popeyes ad starts with the famed score from "2001: A Space Odyssey," which recently made a resurgence in the "Barbie" movie last year. It's an epic cultural backdrop for an ad about chicken wings, indicating how significant Popeyes considers the long-awaited launch of its offerings.

Though it may be Howie's first time hearing about this development in chicken wings, Super Bowl LVIII isn't the first time the world has heard about them. Popeyes' chicken wings debuted as part of the permanent menu in 2023, and the chain has released a series of short ads promoting them over the last five months.

The wings are now available nationwide, all the time, at $5.99 for a six-piece box. The five flavors are ghost pepper dry rub, sweet 'n spicy, honey BBQ, roasted garlic parmesan, and signature hot.

Popeyes has been prepping for the launch of this commercial since January. As the Playoffs started, it had teased a possible deal, a BOGO offer called "Wings for Wings": If any NFL team with wings won Super Bowl LVIII, customers would score free wings. But that was when the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles were still in contention. With the Chiefs and the 49ers facing off this year, the deal never took off, and Popeyes hasn't announced another to take its place.

Still, the ad's placement in the first quarter of the big game is guaranteed to get the word out about Popeyes' new wings: Over 110 million people watch the game. As Sami Siddiqui said, "Football and wings is the all-American pairing, so we couldn't think of a better time to go all-in on launching our new wing lineup than during the Super Bowl."