“Nervous?” Paul Rudd asks Seth Rogen at the start of “Golden Memories,” Lay’s Super Bowl LVI commercial. Seth nods his head and takes one of the Lay’s classic chips Paul is offering, both of them sitting outside a chapel, each wearing tuxedos. “Lay’s. Brings back so many good memories,” says Seth. Suddenly, the two go on a trip down memory lane. From a Shania Twain soundtracked road trip to their first real “heart-to-heart” (“I’ve never seen any of your movies!” “Not even the ones we’re in together?”) to a gang war to the time they got kidnapped by a stalker, the two reminisce how Lay’s has been there.
The two even had Lay’s when Seth bought his first house – and discovered it was haunted by a dark haired female spirit. “You ready?” asks Paul, and his friend is. With Paul presiding over the ceremony – featuring the stalker and members of the gang in the groom’s wedding party – Seth is ready to tie the knot…with Janet the poltergeist. Cue the reception with the techno-remix of Shania’s “You’re Still The One,” and plenty of Lay’s chips to go around.
Super Bowl LVI marks Lay’s first big came commercial in 17 years, and for the big return, the potato chip brand pulled out all the stops by getting Rudd and Rogen. In teasers for the ad, Seth was a bit…unclear of what was going on. “What are we doing,” asked Seth during the second preview. In the teaser, both he and Paul sat in a classic car, with Paul pretending to drive.
“Uh, a teaser,” said the Ant-Man star. “A teaser? For the commercial,” asked a confused Seth, while holding up a bag of Lay’s (which had the word “CLASSIC” across it.) “We’re teasing commercials now?” asked Seth, who clearly hasn’t kept up with his Super Bowl spots over the past few years. “Yep,” said Paul, who assured Seth that this was “like a movie trailer.” “Yeah, but the commercial is incredibly short in the first place,” argued Seth. “How long is the teaser?” “Oh, it’s really—” says Paul before he’s cut off.
The tone of the second teaser was much, much different than that of the first. In the first look at the spot, a long-haired stranger stood in an undisclosed basement, wearing a leather jacket while singing a song to the tune of “Frère Jacques.” “Oh, Seth Rogen. Oh, Seth Rogen. Where are you?” Cut to the Seth Rogen shrine this obsessed fan has set up. Along with fan art and photos of Seth (which the man had pasted his own image to), there is a bag of Lay’s classic potato chips.
This is not the first time that Seth Rogen appeared in a Super Bowl commercial. He teamed up with Amy Schumer in 2016 for Bud Light’s entry, celebrating the formation of The Bud Light Party as a way to heal America’s political division. Oddly enough, it also featured a familiar face. “They say we disagree on everything,” said Amy. “That’s not true. We agree on a lot,” interjected Seth. “Like Paul Rudd,” added Amy. “Everybody loves Paul Rudd.” Cue the Paul Rudd cameo, as the actor seemed shocked at the mention. “I didn’t know this was going to happen.”