Budweiser won’t be in sight during the biggest advertising weekend of the year due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The beer brand will abandon its commercial slot for the National Football League’s Super Bowl for the first time in 37 years, joining Coca-Cola, Hyundai, and Pepsi, which have also vowed to do the same.
Most brands are sitting out due to the financial uncertainty that the pandemic wreaked on consumer demand. Coca-Cola took a hard hit after losing sales from stadiums, movie theaters, and other crowd-gathering places that have largely been shut down or strictly limited in capacity over the past year. Last month, the company announced a 2,200-worker layoff worldwide and said it wouldn’t advertise in order to make sure it’s “investing in the right resources during these unprecedented times.”
While Pepsi Co. won’t be advertising its biggest brand of Pepsi, it will still advertise Mountain Dew and Frito-Lay products. The company will forgo Pepsi ads to focus on its sponsorship of the halftime show.
Budwesier said they will be “reallocating the media investment” to raise awareness about the coronavirus vaccine instead of paying for advertising airtime, according to a report by USA Today. The company will partner with the Ad Council.
“Like everyone else, we are eager to get people back together, reopen restaurants and bars, and be able to gather to cheers with friends and family,” Budweiser Vice President of Marketing Monica Rustgi said in a statement. “To do this, and to bring consumers back into neighborhood bars and restaurants that were hit exceptionally hard by the pandemic, we’re stepping in to support critical awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Budweiser is planning to donate millions of dollars worth of its airtime throughout the year to the Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative, a coalition of experts in health, education, and the economy.
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Budweiser, still has four minutes of advertising among its other brands during the Super Bowl. The St. Louis-based company also owns Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra, and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. Budweiser itself will also run a 90-second ad on digital platforms, explaining why the company is forgoing its 2021 Super Bowl ads.
Ads are estimated to cost around $5.5 million for a 30-second slot during the Super Bowl, which will be aired on CBS.
The big game, which will feature the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will air on Feb. 7. According to the Associated Press, the game’s attendance will be limited to 22,000 people, just over one-third of the roughly 66,000-person capacity at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The coronavirus pandemic has infected over 25 million people in the United States, with more than 410,000 deaths attributed to the virus.
