Bud Light Will Share a Super Bowl Ad With Its New Hard Seltzer Extension
January 08 2020 - 03:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Nat Ives
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA plans four minutes of commercials during
Super Bowl LIV on Fox next month, including a single 60-second ad
that will promote both Bud Light and the new Bud Light Seltzer.
"We really believe that we have a beautiful opportunity to
address Bud Light drinkers and non-Bud Light drinkers," said Marcel
Marcondes, U.S. marketing chief for Anheuser-Busch, speaking on a
conference call with reporters.
Bud Light Seltzer is a priority for AB InBev. Traditional
domestic beer remains the largest category of alcohol in the U.S.,
but easy-drinking lagers like Bud Light and its competitors have
been losing market share as drinkers gravitate to craft brews,
liquor and, most recently, seltzer with alcohol in it.
Last year AB InBev devoted one of its Super Bowl ad slots to its
Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer, whose ad featured a pair of mermaids
talking up "fruit botanicals" and zero sugar. But Bon & Viv was
outsold in 2019 by competitors such as Mark Anthony Brands' White
Claw.
AB InBev later rolled out Natural Light Seltzer and is now
preparing to introduce Bud Light Seltzer.
The company's overall Super Bowl buy this year is in line with
its traditional levels, but a reversal of its surge last year, when
it ran more than five minutes of commercials. That was likely the
largest buy in the company's decades of advertising during the
game.
Beyond the Bon & Viv work, AB InBev ads in the 2019 Super
Bowl included a surprise crossover between Bud Light and HBO's
"Game of Thrones," in which a character from the TV series appeared
to kill the beer brand's Bud Knight mascot. Separate Bud Light
commercials targeted rivals for using corn syrup in their brewing
processes, eventually helping to set off rounds of litigation that
continue today.
"For some brands we're still betting big on TV, but for other
brands we're trying other things," Mr. Marcondes said of this
year's plan. Stella Artois, for example, will sit out the Super
Bowl ad roster this year after appearing in 2019, but the company
will promote it at events on the ground in Miami, where the game
will be played.
Bud Light will also be highlighted in a new one-hour TV special
the night before the game that features a music festival under its
name, Mr. Marcondes said.
In addition to the combo ad for Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer,
AB InBev said it will run three other minute-long commercials, one
each to promote Budweiser, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Pure
Gold.
Mr. Marcondes declined to detail the creative approaches in the
ads but said the Budweiser commercial will champion the American
spirit as well as feature a new label and packaging. The Bud Light
spot will be lighthearted, as usual for the brand. The Michelob
Ultra ad will evoke health and wellness, he said.
Advertisers are paying up to $5.6 million for 30 seconds of
airtime during the football game, although companies that buy
multiple spots get a discount.
AB InBev's beverages will appear on the ad roster with products
such as Procter & Gamble Co.'s Olay brand and PepsiCo Inc.'s
SodaStream, tech giants including Facebook Inc. and campaign ads
from President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Michael
Bloomberg.
Fox Corp. said in November that it had already sold out of
commercial time during the Super Bowl, sooner than usual for the
networks that carry the game. Fox and Wall Street Journal parent
News Corp share common ownership.
The game will take place on Feb 2.
Write to Nat Ives at nat.ives@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2020 15:31 ET (20:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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