The Today anchors are throwing it back to the ’70s — outfits and all — as they relive their middle school days in the morning show’s first Super Bowl public service announcement.
Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Carson Daly are the stars of a 30-second spot that encourages young girls around the country to pursue their interests in STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math.
The PSA will air on Sunday during the Super Bowl pregame show as part of the national She Can STEM campaign.
Thanks to a daydream sequence, the Today gang flashback to the disco decade as students at a reimagined school where the girls are proudly planning their futures in STEM.
Hoda Kotb and her fellow Today anchors star in a new Super Bowl public service announcement that is part of the national She Can STEM campaign
Kotb, Savannah Guthrie (pictured), Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Carson Daly are all featured in the 30-second spot that encourages young girls to pursue their interests in STEM
Fans get a glimpse of what they were like in the 1970s, though Daly can’t resist pointing out he was only a baby at the time.
The PSA begins with Guthrie, 50, and Kotb, 57, ending an interview with IF/THEN ambassadors Karina Popovich, Tiffany Kelly, and Mitu Khandaker about their work in STEM and how they are encouraging girls to follow in their footsteps.
‘I wish they had those kinds of cool careers for women when we were growing up,’ Guthrie says out loud, prompting her to daydream about what it would be like if modern STEM jobs were available when she was in middle school.
‘So, in this flashback, we’re all the same age?’ Daly, 48, asks Kotb while sporting a dark shaggy wig, braces, and a red letterman jacket.
Thanks to a daydream sequence, they flashback to a reimagined school in the 1970s where the girls are proudly planning their futures in science, technology, engineering, and math
‘So, in this flashback, we’re all the same age?’ Daly, 48, asks Kotb while sporting a dark shaggy wig, braces, and a red letterman jacket
His pigtail-wearing co-star, who is nearly a decade older, turns around and throws a crumpled piece of paper at him in response.
‘Yeah,’ Kotb hits back.
When the teacher asks what everyone wants to be when they grow up, a little girl raises her hand and says she wants ‘to make immersive video games.’
‘Oh, I love the arcade,’ Melvin, 42, says, recalling his childhood, though he wasn’t born until 1979.
Ever the over-achiever, Guthrie raises her hand and asks if she gets ‘extra credit’ if she says two jobs, but the teacher swiftly shuts her down.
Guthrie, 50, and Kotb, 57, are decked out in pigtails with ribbons while the pass notes at the start of the PSA
When the teacher asks what everyone wants to be when they grow up, a little girl raises her hand and says she wants ‘to make immersive video games’
‘Oh, I love the arcade,’ Melvin, 42, says, recalling his childhood, though he wasn’t born until 1979
‘I want to revolutionize 3D printing,’ another girl says.
Kotb thinks she is talking about the 3D glasses they ‘wear in the movies,’ and the child gives her a confused look.
Melvin is sitting in the back and struggling to glue together a mobile of an atom during the conversation.
After a girl raises her hand to say she wants to ‘analyze the data from the Cloud,’ he gripes, ‘I just want to get my hands unstuck,’ which earns him an eye roll.
Roker, 67, is brightly smiling in an afro-style wig and retro glasses as he announces he wants ‘to be a meteor.’
Another girls says she wants ‘to revolutionize 3D printing, but Kotb thinks she is talking about the 3D glasses they ‘wear in the movies
Melvin is sitting in the back and struggling to glue together a mobile of an atom during the conversation
As he’s working, a student announces she wants to ‘analyze the data from the Cloud
‘You mean meteorologist,’ another student corrects him.
‘No,’ he says, shaking his head.
The words ‘STEM has come a long way’ then flash across the screen.
The girl thinks for a second before responding to Roker.
‘That’s great, Al,’ she says. ‘Follow your dreams.’
The PSA ends with Daly reminding everyone he is too young to have been a middle school student at this time.
‘I just want to get my hands unstuck,’ Melvin gripes, earning himself an eye roll
Roker, 67, is brightly smiling in an afro-style wig and retro glasses as he announces he wants ‘to be a meteor’
‘You mean meteorologist,’ another student corrects him. ‘No,’ he says, shaking his head.
‘For the record, I was a baby in the ’70s,’ he says, earning another glare from Kotb.
Today teamed up with the ad agency Deloitte Digital to create the PSA in collaboration with the Ad Council, a non-profit that produces social impact campaigns, and IF/THEN, an initiative to advance women in STEM.
While there are far more women working in STEM now compared to the 1970s, there is still a long way to go.
According to the United States Census Bureau, women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce but only 27 percent of STEM workers.
‘We are flashing back to the ’70s, but in this world, girls can aspire to careers in math and science,’ Kotb explained in a behind-the-scenes clip that aired on the Today ssow Friday. ‘We’re showing in this ad, “Wait a second, look how far we’ve come.”‘