Who Is The Famous Director In Squarespace's Super Bowl 2024 Alien Invasion Ad?

Website creation platform Squarespace has released its new advertisement to be played during the 2024 Super Bowl this Sunday, February 11. The ad spot, entitled "Hello Down There," showcases efforts by alien visitors to get the attention of the global populace, who are too interested in cat videos and celebrity gossip on their phones to notice. 

To capture everyone's eyes at once, the aliens decide to create a website (presumably with Squarespace's help), which appears on everyone's phones, prompting them to finally notice the flying saucers. The ad concludes with a man being driven through the streets of New York City, when the traffic is stopped by the flying saucers. "I told you to take Broadway," he tells his driver, "this always happens!"

That gentleman isn't just a disgruntled New Yorker. He is also the ad's director, not to mention one of the most renowned directors in the history of modern American film: Martin Scorsese. If you have any affinity for classic films, you've definitely seen at least one of his hit pictures like "Taxi Driver," "Goodfellas," or "The Wolf of Wall Street." This ad, however, marks the very first time Scorsese has directed a Super Bowl promo.

In a press statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Scorsese explained his interest in making a Super Bowl ad and why he wanted to go with aliens for the subject matter.

"At my age, it's a stretch finding a directorial debut. When Squarespace first approached me to create a spot, I thought this was my shot," Scorsese said. "Let's go big, let's do something out of this world — space guys building a website. I'm a New Yorker. We're busy, always on the move. Would we even notice extraterrestrials living among us? It's going to launch on this show called Super Bowl? Supposed to be big!"

In a separate statement, also obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Squarespace chief creative officer David Lee was overjoyed that the company was able to secure Scorsese's assistance. "We're like, 'I don't know, Martin Scorsese, he would never do this. But if you don't shoot your shot, you'll never know,'" Lee said.

In regards to the ad's focus on New York, Lee added, "New York has always been close to the heart for us. We've always tried to telegraph that we're a New York City company, so to actually work with Martin Scorsese, not only one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, but is also very much a New York icon, is something that I still can't believe."