U2 caused quite a stir on social media during the Super Bowl on Sunday night!
Bono and the boys are gearing up for a Las Vegas residency to celebrate their landmark 1991 album “Achtung Baby,” unveiling an ad during the Super Bowl. Viewers will likely remember the tour’s marketing for months to come; the ad depicts a baby floating in a giant sphere, with an announcer discussing “an unidentified object” floating overhead.
The ad’s subject matter is timely, as it coincides with the escalating interest in ‘Chinese spy balloons’ flying over the United States and Canada.
Sunday also marked the dismantling of the fourth “aerial object” by the United States military in the last month. According to The Washington Post, the Defense Department revealed that the object had been “shot down” by the military as it traveled over Michigan’s Lake Huron.
What Are The Details On U2’s Upcoming Las Vegas Residency?
U2 is no stranger to conducting theatrical, high-grossing tours! Three of the band’s tours are among the highest-grossing tours of all time, including the anniversary tour behind their landmark 1987 album “The Joshua Tree,” and their massive 360 tour from the early 2010s.
U2’s upcoming Las Vegas residency will mark the inaugural shows at Las Vegas’ MSG Sphere in the Fall of 2023.
The shows are significant for the band as the band’s drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., won’t be participating on tour.
According to the tour’s press release from the venue, Mullen Jr.’s bandmates revealed, “It’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg who is a force in his own right.”
The venue’s details are quite grand; USA Today reports the “17,500 capcity globe features 4D technology, immersive sound, and a 16k screen that wraps up and around the setting.”
Of the venue, The Edge said, “It’s a canvas of an unparalleled scale and image resolution, and a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We all thought about it and decided we’d be mad not to accept the invitation.” (per MSG Entertainment)
The shows will be the first live tour for U2 since 2019. The band believes their triumphant return to the stage, and the album they have chosen to mark the occasion with, is meant to be.
“We’re the right band, ‘Achtung Baby’ the right album and the Sphere the right venue to take the experience to the next level,” U2 frontman Bono declared. (via USA Today)
Twitter Users Couldn’t Help Notice The Timely Coincidence
Many Twitter users pointed out the timeliness of Sunday’s event and U2’s Super Bowl promotional ad.
“I know the U2 ad had to be made before the Chinese spy balloon drama but honestly it was impeccable timing for it to come out around the same time we’re looking out for big spheres in the sky,” a fan noted.
This is a screenshot at around 5 seconds of the U2 SuperBowl ad. That is the “Chinese Spy Balloon” from last week. Either U2’s marketing team has poor, yet viral taste. Or U2 cost the US Gov a lot of people. Wtf.. video here: https://t.co/AsRZfWOXAf pic.twitter.com/EJzi4kRWT0
— Chase (@Chase7601) February 13, 2023
“This is a screenshot at around 5 seconds of the U2 Super Bowl ad. That is the ‘Chinese Spy Balloon’ from last week. Either U2’s marketing team has poor, yet viral taste. Or U2 cost the US Gov a lot of people,” another weighed in.
“Can’t get over this ad,” a fan tweeted, “How does U2 get away with this s**t. There was definitely a Zoom meeting this week with the ad agency suggesting the public might not be ready for a ‘scary balloon in the sky,’ only for Bono to respond ‘It’s not a balloon, it’s an aluminum sphere.” they concluded.
“I kind of feel like U2 told the world that were [sic] defenseless against them automatically adding their next album to our iphones with that weather balloon commercial,” another fan theorized. U2 famously released their 2014 album “Songs On Innocence” to the devices of iTunes users. Bono would discuss the situation at length in his 2022 memoir, “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.”
“So are we just gonna gloss over the U2 balloon commercial?” another fan asked.
“U2 forced to put its music on iPhones and now they’re invading the US with weather balloons. It’s time to send Bono to Gitmo!” another fan joked.
“I, for one, am even more concerned about the threat of a possible new U2 album that I am about Chinese espionage, and I would like to see this reflected in the US military’s priorities,” another user joked.
“Maybe the balloons are U2’s new delivery method given that iTunes is no longer an option,” another fan responded.
The band has yet to announce exact dates for the residency as of this writing.
