Michael Cera won the Super Bowl. No, not the football part, obviously—that was all Taylor's boyfriend.
No, what Cera won was the commercial break, with an appearance in a 30-second CeraVe ad spot.
The Barbie actor starred in a commercial for the popular drugstore skincare brand, playing up the fact that his last name is contained within the brand's name.
"I'm Michael Cera, and human skin is my passion—which is why I developed this," he declares while holding up a tub of CeraVe's Moisturizing Cream.
He then whispers suggestively, "CeraVe."
"Can skin truly be this moisturized?" he asks, just as we see a scene of him massaging a second version of himself (???).
He continues, sounding like something out of a car/perfume commercial, but funnier, "Let my cream hydrate you. Three essential ceramides. CeraVe, developed with Michael Cera."
It then becomes apparent that Cera was showing this ad spot to a board room full of CeraVe dermatologists, asking them, "We like? You see, my name is Cera, and so it's a perfect crossover opportunity."
The doctors look distinctly unimpressed at his performance, and the ad cuts to the tagline: "Developed with dermatologists. Not Michael Cera."
The comments on the YouTube video were unequivocal.
"This is the single greatest piece of advertising I have ever seen," declared one person.
"This was they only ad I found truly funny the entire Super Bowl," said someone else.
"i think the board room should hear him out idk," suggested someone else.
This ad was preempted with a bunch of clever and confusing pieces of content across the internet. One came courtesy of influencer @haleyybaylee, who "caught" Cera in a pharmacy, adding "Michael" in front of "CeraVe" on a bunch of lotion bottles.
@haleyybaylee ♬ original sound - haleyybaylee
Another was a skincare myth debunking video featuring Cera and dermatologist Dr. Shah.
@dermdoctor ♬ original sound - DermDoctor | Dr. Shah
Another was a sit-down interview with awkward queen Bobbi Althoff, and another was an "unsanctioned" website promoting Michael CeraVe.
@bobbialthoff ♬ original sound - Bobbi
Now that's what the kids call commitment to the bit.
