Ford didn’t buy a single second of Super Bowl airtime this year, and it still ended up with one of the most memorable brand appearances of the broadcast. Bad Bunny performed his Super Bowl 60 halftime show on Feb. 8 atop a cream-and-green early 1970s Ford F-100, identified as a 1970 fifth-generation long bed, in front of more than 128 million viewers worldwide.
A Truck With a Backstory
The F-100 wasn’t a random prop. Bad Bunny requested it specifically, and it closely mirrors the customized green-and-white F-Series truck that appears in his “Moscow Mule” music video, which opens with a similar truck driving across the screen. There was no confirmed commercial partnership behind either appearance, the music video or the halftime show, meaning Ford’s exposure came entirely from an artist’s personal aesthetic choice rather than a marketing deal.
What a Halftime Cameo Is Worth
A 30-second in-game commercial during this Super Bowl reportedly cost between $8 million and $10 million, and Ford didn’t pay a cent of it, yet the F-100 became one of the standout visuals of a nearly 15-minute performance watched by more people than almost any other broadcast all year. Industry analysts have long noted that vintage vehicles tend to boost brand recognition in major productions even without a formal partnership behind them, since the association still registers with viewers regardless of who paid for it.
Why Ford, Specifically
The choice lines up with Bad Bunny’s roots. Ford is a top-selling brand in Puerto Rico, where the artist is from, and the F-Series remains a strong seller in the territory’s pickup segment. That context makes the truck’s appearance feel less like a random prop choice and more like a genuine nod to a brand with real cultural footing in his home market.
Neither Bad Bunny’s team nor Ford has offered an official comment connecting the two beyond what’s visible on screen, and requests for comment about the truck’s inclusion in the show went unanswered as of publication.
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