The National Football League is on message with the Bold North theme for Super Bowl LII ane then some in a television commercial called, "The Will to Survive."
The 30-second spot features NFL stars such as Von Miller, Earl Thomas and Dak Prescott, trudging through a snowy, frozen mountain pass landscape, wind howling fiercely as a cloudy image of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in his uniform briefly appears in the dark sky.
The players wear furs, heavy boots and carry hiking sticks looking ready to step into a gnarly story arc on HBO's Game of Thrones series. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any Minnesota Vikings featured in the spot.
The ad culminates with an image of U.S. Bank Stadium, aglow in purples and blues, atop a mountain off in the middle distance. Message: It's going to take all you've got to get into the game Feb. 4.
Watch the spot here: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wsP_/nfl-the-will-to-survive-featuring-dak-prescott-von-miller#
The lead-up events start in less than a month on Jan. 26 with Super Bowl Live on Nicollet Mall. In the coming days, expect to see an increasing presence of Super Bowl ads around town featuring the theme colors of blue, purple and green, evoking the Northern Lights.
Let's hope the weather isn't as imposing as it appears to be in the ad or as it actually is this week.