The World’s Last Blockbuster To Run Ad During Super Bowl — That You Can Rent On VHS!
The Last Blockbuster anywhere is going to be running an ad during the Super Bowl on Sunday. It won’t be on the channels actually airing the Big Game, but may feature a cockroach or two, so that’s something.
The Bend, Oregon Blockbuster video rental retail location is the last one on Earth, which explains the title and thematic elements of their Super Bowl-adjacent ad titled “Blockbuster: Until the Bitter End.”
To watch you’ll have to go to the store, if you can get there, and watch it on VHS tape to be played on a TV set up for the game. Or you can catch it streaming, of course.
General manager Sandi Harding said it’s on VHS because they wanted to do something “retro” like their store. in an interview with KBNZ in Bend.
“We wanted to show that a small business could do something fun during the Big Game,” said Harding.
The Bend Blockbuster was the subject of a 2020 film appropriately titled The Last Blockbuster, by which name the store is generally and affectionately known. They’ve put out some promotional social media posts, including cryptic cockroach-themed teasers on Instagram and YouTube.
“Is the world coming to an end or is Blockbuster releasing its first commercial in a really, really long time?” reads one of the promos. “Yes. See you on 2/12.”
Ominous!
That image answers its own question, because the place to watch the ad streaming will be on the store’s Instagram page.
Watch the clips above via The Last Blockbuster. Or on VHS if you’re very awesome. It’s only $2 a day to rent!
