Kanye West promoted his Yeezy brand during Sunday (Feb. 11) night’s Super Bowl LVIII with a notably frugal advertisement, having invested the entirety of the budget into purchasing airtime.
“Hey, y’all, this Ye, and this is my commercial. And since we spent all the money on the commercial spot, we actually didn’t spend any money on the actual commercial,” West said during the clip. “But the idea is: I want you to go to yeezy.com — Y-E-E-Z-Y dot com. I’ma write it at the bottom of the screen… And I got some shoes, and that’s it.”
A 30-second slot during the Super Bowl can cost approximately $7 million. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, West’s promo didn’t air globally. The ad was presumably aired selectively in Miami and Chicago, among other regions.
In an interview teaser with Justin Laboy, West discussed his rationale behind selling Yeezy merchandise for only $20. He stated, “I’m a bit of a Robin Hood in a way where people can say, ‘Okay, this multibillionaire spent $4 million on Balenciaga in one year,’ but did I bring the designs back down to earth? As much as I could because Gap didn’t take it to $20 the way I wanted to ‘cause they were still trying to protect the classism of the idea of Balenciaga and the idea of Gap.”
West’s Super Bowl weekend was also eventful. He and Ty Dolla Sign debuted their long-awaited joint effort Vultures 1. The 16-track offering boasted features from YG, the late Nipsey Hussle, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Quavo, Freddie Gibbs, Chris Brown, and more. Additionally, it included previously teased songs like “Back To Me,” “Vultures,” “Fuk Sumn,” and “Talking.”
West also previewed the standout cut “Carnival” during his Chicago listening event last Thursday (Feb. 8). In the track, he compared himself to Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, and several more. Taylor Swift and Elon Musk were among the other celebrities whose names were dropped on the cut.