Super Bowl 2021: Jason Alexander on Filming Tide Commercial
While Jason Alexander admittedly couldn’t tell you which teams are facing off in this year’s Super Bowl, there is one thing he’s sure of: “People really, really look forward to the commercials.”
While promoting his fun Tide Super Bowl commercial to help launch Tide Hygienic Clean Heavy Duty 10x detergent, the Seinfeld actor tells PEOPLE that getting the opportunity to appear in such an iconic spot is “a very, very nice pat on the back.”
“It’s kind of like when you’re doing a TV show and they give you the best slot in television,” he says. “So to get one of those is, first of all, it’s great. But second of all, it’s really flattering to be thought of as someone that can satisfy that audience, because it’s very large, and there’s a lot of competition for who had the best spot that day. ”
In the commercial, which will air on Super Bowl Sunday, Alexander animates a teenager’s beloved hoodie (featuring his own face) that gets dirtier as the day goes on.
The “Jason Alexander hoodie” is subject to a variety of gross situations, ranging from being drooled on by a dog to being shoved into a smelly gym bag. Throughout the spot, Alexander’s facial expressions continue to change on the sweatshirt depending on the grimy situation.
Seinfeld fans may also notice something familiar in the ad — the track played in the spot, the theme song from The Greatest American Hero, was parodied on Seinfeld as George Costanza’s (Alexander) answering machine message.
“I think I’ve used every facial muscle I have to create those expressions,” Alexander says of filming the commercial. “I think there are maybe a dozen expressions in the finished commercial, but I can tell you that there were close to 1,500 photographs taken in that one day.”
To shoot the ad, Alexander, 61, says he went into a soundstage with a small crew and the director called in via Zoom.
“We talked through every possible scenario. I felt like I was back in the old Fay Wray movies, with someone going, ‘Now the monkey, it’s approaching, you’re terrified!’ It was like one of those old-fashioned sessions with the megaphone,” the actor says, referring to the filming of the original King Kong.
“You just have to let your ego go and be silly and say, ‘I’m going to make funny faces,’ ” he adds.
Despite starring in the Super Bowl spot, the New Jersey native admits to having no idea who is playing in the upcoming game.
“That’s how not a sports fan I am,” he tells PEOPLE, before asking which teams would be competing.
“Chiefs are going to win,” he says with confidence. “And you can write that based on absolutely nothing, no knowledge of any player, no knowledge of the staff, no knowledge of the game or how it’s played, I have picked the Super Bowl winner.”
The minute-long spot will air at the two-minute warning during the second quarter of Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7.
