Dave’s Hot Chicken Turns Up the Heat for the Big Game With First-Ever Super Bowl Ad, Major Sports Partnerships, and Fan-Fueled Moments

The cult-favorite brand debuts its biggest advertising moment yet, launches a $10,000 Championship Heat Check with DraftKings and teams up with Bleacher Report GNW

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The cult-favorite brand debuts its biggest advertising moment yet, launches a $10,000 Championship Heat Check with DraftKings and teams up with Bleacher Report

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dave’s Hot Chicken, the cult-favorite brand known for serving the most craveable hot chicken on the planet, is stepping onto the biggest stage in sports with its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, airing in New York and Los Angeles, marking a milestone moment in the brand’s rapid rise from parking-lot pop-up to global phenomenon.

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The spot showcases what fans know best: the unfiltered, authentic reactions of real guests experiencing Dave’s signature hot chicken. Built from the brand’s viral user-generated content, the ad captures the raw emotion, humor, and heat that have helped Dave’s amass more than seven million followers across its social platforms, turning everyday guests into the brand’s most powerful storytellers.

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“This is a huge moment for us,” said Jim Bitticks, CEO of Dave’s Hot Chicken. “Running our first-ever Super Bowl ad is about celebrating our fans and the culture they’ve helped build. Our guests have always been the heart of Dave’s, and seeing their real reactions on the biggest stage reinforces why we do what we do. It’s an exciting continuation of the momentum we’ve been on, especially coming off being named Yelp’s #1 Most Loved Brand.”

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To keep the championship energy rolling, Dave’s is teaming up with DraftKings for the Championship Heat Check, giving guests a chance to win $10,000. Fans can enter by visiting LINK HERE, bringing together Dave’s signature heat with the thrill of the Big Game and further expanding the brand’s growing presence in the sports world. The partnership builds on Dave’s history of aligning with major sports properties, including its sponsorship of the UFC, and signals the brand’s continued push into high-impact, fan-first sports moments.

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Dave’s is also partnering with Bleacher Report for a special Big Game moment featuring Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery, who takes on the brand’s infamous Reaper Roulette challenge. Known for delivering some of the internet’s most talked-about heat reactions, Reaper Roulette puts Montgomery’s toughness to the test, blending sports culture, entertainment, and Dave’s signature spice in a way only the brand can.

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And of course, no Big Game celebration is complete without the food. Dave’s Hot Boxes are the ultimate game-day spread, and can be customized with spice levels, tenders, sliders, bites or even Cauliflower offerings.

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About Dave’s Hot Chicken
In a modern-day American dream story, three childhood friends, Chef Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan and Tommy Rubenyan, scraped together $900 to launch Dave’s Hot Chicken in a parking lot, portable fryers and folding tables in tow, in 2017. Dave’s Hot Chicken quickly took off, opening an East Hollywood brick-and-mortar restaurant shortly after, with support from Tommy’s brother, Gary. In 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, Bill Phelps, to begin franchising the Dave’s Hot Chicken concept, with Billboard’s Artist of the Decade, Drake, investing in the brand as well. The company has sold the rights to more than 1,000 franchise locations in the U.S., Middle East, Europe and Canada and will open 150-plus locations this year. Harkening back to an Eater LA blog that helped propel early interest in the brand, the company’s mission is to “blow their minds.”

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