Kevin Bacon Brings 'Six Degrees' On Screen With Budweiser's Super Bowl 2023 Commercial

The idea of "six degrees of separation" has been around for a long time now. The basic premise is that everyone on the planet is connected by no more than six other individuals. It's supposed to give us the idea that we're a lot more closely linked than we might imagine. However, in 1994, three friends came up with the Hollywood game "Six Degrees of Separation From Kevin Bacon" (via NPR). This idea states that any movie star, living or dead, could be connected to actor Kevin Bacon with no more than six connections, and for the most part, it pretty much works. 

In fact, the game's probably a lot easier these days now that Kevin Bacon has entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his part in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." It shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that Bacon is well aware of the game, and in fact, he's bringing its sensibilities to the Super Bowl with a new commercial for Budweiser that takes the original idea to new heights. Ahead of the big game, Bacon has spoken about what the ad means to him and why he was more than happy to provide his voice for it. 

The Budweiser Super Bowl commercial is pretty simple in premise. It follows a group of people who take a six-pack of beer and pass them off to people from different walks of life. Starting with construction workers, they pass it to food truck employees and then to guys on a basketball court. It shows how beer is meant to be shared, and a six-pack serves as an ideal package to reiterate the "six degrees of separation" philosophy. And while he doesn't physically appear in the ad, Kevin Bacon narrates the whole thing to drive the message home. 

In an interview with People, Bacon spoke about his role in the ad and what the idea of six degrees of separation means to him. As he put it, "I've always felt that the actual idea, which, by the way, existed many years before I was attached to it ... is a beautiful concept." The commercial doesn't focus on anything glitzy or glamorous, just people going about their lives and making connections naturally. It, of course, ends with the last recipient offering the viewer a beer, driving home the point of how we're all connected. Bacon mentioned, "I'm sure there's Super Bowl ads where you go, 'Yeah, but what were they trying [to sell]?' I don't think this is one of them."

You can watch the ad now on YouTube and catch it again during the big game on February 12.