In an innovative marketing move, YouTube superstar MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, collaborated with Salesforce to create a captivating Super Bowl advertisement. This commercial challenged viewers to decipher a series of embedded puzzles for a chance to win a grand prize of $1 million. The campaign was designed to promote Slack's artificial intelligence capabilities, specifically its AI assistant, Slackbot, which streamlines tasks such as information retrieval and conversation summarization. By engaging MrBeast, a digital creator with a staggering global reach, Salesforce aimed to connect with a vast, engaged audience, deviating from traditional celebrity endorsements. Donaldson's pre-release teaser videos further amplified anticipation, generating millions of views and setting the stage for a highly interactive Super Bowl experience.
MrBeast Unveils $1 Million Super Bowl Puzzle Challenge for Slack AI
On the evening of February 8, 2026, during the highly anticipated Super Bowl event, a unique advertisement captivated audiences. YouTube luminary Jimmy Donaldson, widely recognized as MrBeast, collaborated with Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) to launch an innovative campaign. Donaldson announced via X (formerly Twitter) that the first individual to successfully unravel the hidden clues within the Super Bowl commercial would be awarded $1 million. The approximately 30-second spot featured Donaldson revealing a vault containing the substantial prize, emphasizing that its contents could only be accessed by solving a sequence of intricate puzzles. Throughout the commercial, fleeting clues appeared on screen, prompting viewers to meticulously re-watch and analyze each frame. This strategic placement was intended to drive engagement and encourage repeated viewing of the advertisement. The primary objective of this groundbreaking campaign was to spotlight Slackbot, an advanced AI assistant integrated into Salesforce-owned Slack. This AI tool is designed to enhance user productivity by facilitating information retrieval, summarizing conversations, and automating various tasks. Diverging from previous Super Bowl advertising strategies that featured Hollywood icons, Salesforce opted for a partnership with a digital-first creator, capitalizing on MrBeast's immense influence and extensive subscriber base. Donaldson, at 27 years old, commands the largest following on YouTube, with approximately 466 million subscribers across his main channel. Prior to the Super Bowl broadcast, he released a teaser video on his channel, which garnered over 4.5 million views, further intensifying public interest. Following the ad's debut, Salesforce shares experienced a slight increase of 0.10% in after-hours trading, as reported by Benzinga Pro.
This innovative advertising approach by Salesforce and MrBeast underscores a significant shift in marketing strategies, particularly in how brands engage with audiences during major events like the Super Bowl. The move highlights the increasing power of digital creators and the effectiveness of interactive campaigns in capturing public attention. By transforming a traditional advertisement into a million-dollar puzzle, they not only generated immense buzz but also subtly educated viewers about Slack's AI capabilities. This blend of entertainment, challenge, and product promotion offers a compelling blueprint for future brand collaborations, demonstrating that true engagement extends beyond mere viewership to active participation and problem-solving.