Who Is In The Meta Oakley Sunglasses Super Bowl Commercial?

The NFL's biggest game is almost upon us, and that means football fans all over the world are gearing up to watch the most anticipated part of any Super Bowl broadcast, the commercials. Even though there are many who care more about the Seahawks and Patriots facing off, the commercial breaks will likely be just as scrutinized post-game. That's because some of the biggest brands on the planet are ponying up big bucks to plug their high-profile wares.

That list includes Meta, which has a slightly dodgy history with Super Bowl ads. Nonetheless, the tech faction has teamed with iconic sunglasses manufacturer Oakley to deliver a fresh set of A.I.-enabled shades for the sporting set. The glasses are supposed to debut during the Super Bowl LX broadcast. Those shades will, fittingly, do so on the faces of a few famous folks from the sports world, including former Super Bowl champion running back Marshawn Lynch.

Along with Lynch, sharp-eyed viewers may also recognize pro skateboarder and surfer Sky Brown, rising PGA star Akshay Bhatia, Olympic mountain biker Kate Courtney, and breakdancing B-Girl Sunny Choi. The one-minute spot also features an appearance from beloved YouTube gamer Darren Watkins Jr. (aka iShowSpeed), as well as New York-based cinema legend Spike Lee, who is, of course, a diehard sports fan himself. That's an impressive cast list to be sure, even if it may be slightly difficult to immediately recognize the players with Oakleys blocking their eyes.

While famous faces and slick Oakley frames are front and center during the one-minute Super Bowl ad, the spot is less than forthcoming about what the Oakley-Meta mashup shades actually do, apart from looking pretty cool. In fact, it mostly features those famous folks asking the Meta A.I. for information while they perform athletic feats or watch them being performed.

At present, Meta features two models of Oakleys in its A.I. lineup: the wraparound Vanguard and the more classically styled HTSN. Like its Ray-Ban counterparts, the Oakleys are hardly cheap, with the former selling for $499 and the latter going for $479. While the Oakleys deliver a starkly different profile, they provide much of the same in terms of functionality. To that end, there may be a few good reasons to avoid buying them for now.

If you're still interested, the Garmin-compatible, voice-command-ready Vanguards come equipped with fast-adapting Oakley's Prizm lens tech, a 12 MP camera with a 122-degree field of view for hands-free video, and high-quality audio features. They also deliver real-time stats for athletes and are IP67 rated for resistance to dust and water. The Prizm Ruby lens-equipped HTSNs, however, are rated at IPX4. 

Apart from a decrease in durability, the cameras also boast a decrease in FOV, delivering a 100-degree view via a 12 MP camera. But the open-ear Bluetooth speakers claim to deliver the goods on sound quality, calling functionality, and A.I. interaction. And just for the record, both versions feature 32GB of storage for all those action shots.