In a move that has sent ripples through both the tech and entertainment sectors, Jimmy Donaldson—better known to his billions of fans as MrBeast—has officially announced a partnership with Salesforce for a high-profile Super Bowl commercial. While a collaboration between the world's most successful YouTuber and a business software titan might seem like standard corporate synergy on the surface, the early looks suggest something far more atmospheric and unsettling than your typical 30-second spot.
According to reports from Variety, the advertisement features MrBeast visiting the Salesforce headquarters, but not for a simple tour. In a teaser that evokes the clinical, high-tension aesthetics of modern psychological horror, Donaldson is seen taking a slow, rhythmic elevator ride to meet with the company’s “marketing department.” For those who have followed the evolution of MrBeast’s content, the shift toward cinematic, high-concept tension isn't entirely unexpected, but the dark, almost dystopian tone of this latest project has horror fans leaning in.
The Beast Enters the Boardroom
MrBeast has built an empire on the back of extreme challenges—surviving in the wilderness, staying in solitary confinement, or navigating deadly-looking obstacle courses. While these videos are usually framed as high-energy entertainment, there has always been an undercurrent of psychological endurance that borders on the genre of the “deadly game” subgenre of horror. Think Saw or Squid Game, but with a philanthropic heart.
By teaming up with Salesforce, Donaldson seems to be leaning into the "Corporate Horror" trope that has seen a massive resurgence in recent years. The imagery of a lone individual navigating a vast, sterile corporate monolith to meet a mysterious entity is a staple of the genre. The Super Bowl stage provides the perfect canvas for this kind of high-budget, unsettling imagery, and with MrBeast’s penchant for grand-scale production, we expect the final commercial to be more of a short-form thriller than a sales pitch.
A New Era of Dystopian Marketing
Why does this matter to the horror community? Because the line between reality-based challenges and psychological horror is thinning. When we see MrBeast entering a high-security office building to discuss "marketing" in a video that feels ripped from a Blumhouse production, we are seeing the mainstreaming of horror aesthetics in the most unlikely of places. Salesforce, traditionally known for CRM software, is taking a massive swing by allowing their brand to be framed through this uncanny lens.
What to Expect on Game Day
While the full details of the commercial are being kept under lock and key, insiders suggest that the "challenge" aspect of MrBeast's brand will play a central role. However, instead of a bright, colorful set, expect liminal spaces, flickering fluorescent lights, and the kind of mounting dread that only a Super Bowl budget can buy. As we move closer to the big game on February 8th, the buzz around this “horror-adjacent” tech ad is only going to grow. Is Salesforce the new Weyland-Yutani? Is MrBeast the ultimate game master? We’ll find out when the whistle blows.
Stay tuned to ScreamDesk as we continue to track the intersection of internet culture and the macabre. If this Super Bowl spot is half as creepy as the teaser suggests, we might be looking at the most talked-about genre moment of the year.