NEW YORK (AP) – For the first time since 1983, when Anheuser-Busch used all of its advertising time to launch a beer called Bud Light, the beer giant is not advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl. Instead, it is donating the money it would have spent on the ad for coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts.
Anheuser-Busch still has four minutes of in-game advertising for its other brands, including Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. These are some of your most sought-after salespeople, especially among younger viewers.
But the decision not to make a hymn advertisement for Budweiser – which for nearly four decades has made American frog icons singing “Budweiser”, guys shouting “Whassup!” And, of course, Budweiser Clydesdales – shows the caution with which some advertisers are approaching the first COVID-era Super Bowl.
“We have a pandemic that is sending a cloud over almost everything,” said Paul Argenti, professor of corporate communications at Dartmouth College. “It is difficult to feel the exuberance and excitement that people would normally feel.”
The Anheuser-Busch move follows a similar announcement from PepsiCo., Which will not announce its biggest brand, Pepsi, in order to focus on its sponsorship of the halftime show. (He will be advertising Mountain Dew and Frito-Lay products). Other veteran Super Bowl advertisers, like Coca, Audi and Avocados de México, are totally out of the game.
These major brand absences are just another way the Super Bowl LV will look very different from previous years. Participation in the game will be limited to 22,000 people, about a third of the capacity of more than 65,890 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. And Super Bowl parties are likely to be smaller events with groups or families.
“I think advertisers are correctly realizing that this is a riskier year for the Super Bowl,” said Charles Taylor, professor of marketing at Villanova University. “With COVID and economic uncertainty, people are not necessarily in the best mood to start. There is a risk associated with potentially very light messages. … At the same time, there is a risk associated with doing something very dark. “
The pandemic has hit sales for many Super Bowl advertisers. With expensive ads costing about $ 5.5 million for 30 seconds during the Feb. 7 broadcast on CBS, some may have decided it is not worth it this year. Coca-Cola, for example, was hit hard, as half of its sales come from stadiums, cinemas and other generally crowded places that were closed during the pandemic. Announced layoffs in December, and said he would not announce this year to ensure that he is “investing in the right resources during these unprecedented times”.
To fill the void, newcomers like TikTok’s rival Triller, the online freelance market Fiverr and online car salesman Vroom are racing to take their place. Returning brands include M&M, Pringles, Toyota and others.
Companies that are running ads this year face several challenges. Super Bowl ads are usually developed months in advance and shot in the fall, which means that ads that air in two weeks were shot in expensive pandemic conditions and with no idea what the presidential election would look like. This further complicates the already delicate process of reaching a tone that recognizes what is happening to the world, managing to entertain or pull the strings of the viewer’s heart and find a way to tie everything back to your brand.
“It is a difficult year to make an announcement,” said Argenti. “It will be a good year for creative companies that figure out how to thread this needle.”
Monica Rustgi, vice president of marketing at Budweiser, said the brand is still calculating how much it will spend on vaccine awareness. But she said it will be a “multimillion dollar” commitment that includes donating airtime over the course of this year to the not-for-profit organization of the Ads Council and the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative of the COVID Collaborative.
Budweiser will still have a marketing presence around the big game. Starting on Monday, the brand will air an ad that celebrates resilience during the pandemic, including a socially distant anniversary parade and athletes with Black Lives Matter t-shirts. The ad, narrated by actress and director Rashida Jones, ends with health professionals being vaccinated and talks about the Budweiser donation.
In the era of social media and digital advertising, brands are not limited to running ads during an event, as consumers can view them online, anywhere, from Facebook and Twitter to YouTube, said Rustgi of Budweiser. Budweiser’s retreat in the Super Bowl will also not be long-term, she said.
“The Super Bowl is the most popular sporting event, in addition to the World Cup, that anyone will see,” added Argenti of Dartmouth. “An event that attracts so many people to advertising will never go away.”
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Durbin reported from Detroit.