A local school band and a dog were among the stars of health system Super Bowl commercials that aired during the big game Feb. 11.
Several systems ran new ads in their local markets amid the championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
Buffalo, N.Y.-based Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center debuted its "Tails of Hope" commercial during the Super Bowl. It featured Roswell Park therapy dog Hawk and spotlighted the benefits the animals have on patients.
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur directed band members from the local Howard-Suamico School District in a Super Bowl ad for Green Bay, Wis.-based Bellin Health about how the health system takes patients "from band student to rock star."
Pediatric patients from Niswonger Children's Network, part of Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health, were featured in a 30-second spot about its "real MVPs."
In Connecticut, Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health had dueling ads during the big game, with Hartford highlighting its "top team" and national reach and Yale New Haven showing how it's "powering breakthroughs" including a young patient treated for lung cancer.
Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude Children's Research Hospital aired its first Super Bowl ad, a Spanish-language commercial on TelevisaUnivision featuring patient Luna, who was treated for leukemia after being diagnosed in her home country of Guatemala, the Daily Memphian reported. The ad aimed to attract monthly givers to St. Jude.