"Indeed" and "Guaranteed rate" use the same stock footage in their Superbowl ads.

Well, this is awkward.... the Super Bowl commercials for "Guaranteed rate" and  "Indeed" both have a short clip from the same exact stock footage.

Indeed's ad, on the left, was created by 72andSunny. It's a manifesto ad with a diverse array of people in it, who open curtains, correct their ties, and run around their house with their children. Every single scene looks like it could be found in stock footage. 

Guaranteed Rate is new to the Superbowl, their ad was created in-house. Their edit seems to be a mix of promotional material for some athletes, real matches, and stock footage. 

This is a risk you run when you use stock footage, instead of shooting your own, and everyone knows it. Often, due to budgets, it is a risk that has to be taken. 

But the Super Bowl is the biggest advertising event in the United States. It's when the largest audience is watching, and you truly should do your best to stand out. Brands have become legendary via their ads during this event. Brands have died after having their ads received poorly during the Superbowl, as happened with Just For Feet. 

The price of a 30-second spot in the 2021 Superbowl is $5,500,000. You don't want your ad to look like a sea of same when you're trying to get the consumers attention away from the game. If there is one time you really shouldn't skimp with your budget and use stock, it would be this time.

Creative ideas don't need to use stock to meet the budget.

FedEx ran an incredibly inexpensive execution in the 1998 Superbowl when they pretended they had lost the ad in shipping, and simply apologized with text running across a test screen pattern, saying they really should have used Fedex instead. It got attention, and it made a selling point really well. 

Update: AdAge got a hold of the Stock Footage Company that provided this clip, Filmsupply, and they had this to say: 

“This situation was an unfortunate one because the company does offer exclusivity for clients if they want it. Under these unprecedented times for commercial production, demand for Filmsupply’s clips has increased exponentially. In many ways, the duplication reflects a broader shift toward a new era of production amidst COVID-19.”