TikTok wants you to show off your Super Bowl spread

For the Super Bowl, TikTok is asking its community to get their grub on. The video app has announced the TikTok Gridiron Grub Contest, which will award $5,000 to five restaurants that showcase the most outrageous gameday dishes.

To earn a share of the $25,000 prize pool, Grub Contest participants must show off the most “fun and creative” ideas for Super Bowl snacks. TikTok has already emerged as a hotbed for original recipes, and those ideas come in handy this time of year.

@spilling_the_sweet_tea #superbowlsunday is about to be lit with these #airfriedchickenwings Full recipe written out on my Instagram. Follow me #spillingthesweettea ♬ Them Changes – Thundercat

With the Grub Contest, TikTok is specifically courting small businesses. The app has made overtures to entrepreneurs and business owners over the past year and has even launched a virtual school where those individuals can learn the ins and outs of short-form content creation.

Restaurateurs and chefs who fit into the above categories can enter TikTok’s Super Bowl snack-off by posting their spread and adding three hashtags: #GridironGrubContest, #smallbusiness, and the name of their home city. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 PM on Super Bowl Sunday. “We encourage people to test out some of the #GridironGrub entries from local small businesses and share their review on TikTok, so that our community knows where to find the cheesiest nachos, crispiest wings, juiciest burgers, and more,” reads the call for submissions

TikTok is also making a tailgate sales pitch

Beyond small business owners, TikTok is also targeting agencies and brands. During the ad industry’s peak season, the ByteDance-owned app will host its third NFL TikTok Tailgate. The live production will air before the big game on February 12. Confirmed guests include Jason Derulo and The Black Keys.

TikTok will use its Tailgate to highlight some of the formats it offers its advertising partners. AdAge noted that high-exposure “TikTok takeovers” will be part of some Tailgate deals — and the price tags for those deals have reportedly soared as high as $4 million.

“TikTok has been louder than ever before and they’re making a big to-do about the game,” an agency exec told AdAge. “The package for the tailgate has gotten bigger. It’s more comprehensive, and TikTok also is trying to push sponsors, with media commitments, to do more performance marketing on the app.”

Though TikTok is eager to innovate new formats, it has not shied away from traditional advertising. It aired its first Super Bowl commercial during the 54th edition of the Big Game in 2020.