Don't expect anything new when Colgate makes its debut as a Super Bowl advertiser next month.
Instead of creating an entirely new spot for the Big Game, the toothpaste brand instead decided to trim down a 2014 ad that it ran in Colombia and Brazil for World Water Day and repurpose it for an ad slot estimated to have cost "north of $5 million."
Aside from a brief brand mention at the end, the commercial is nearly a Public Service Announcement for water conservation. The conceit is simple yet dramatic: A man brushes his teeth with the faucet running as a little girl tries to drink from its flow with cupped hands.
The poignant fact at the heart of it: Needlessly running the sink can waste more water in one toothbrushing session than many families around the world get in a week.
When the extended ad first ran, it won the agency Y&R Peru a Cannes Lion advertising award, and racked up more than 500,000 views.
While the Super Bowl advertisers are expected to take a generally lighter approach this year after a somber lineup last year, Colgate is one of the few that still plans to tackle on a weightier subject. Other brands that plan to get serious include SunTrust Bank, which will run a spot on financial distress, and Mini Cooper, which will air a celebrity-studded ad about overcoming stereotypes.