Five articles that have us buzzing this week
Budweiser joins Coke, Pepsi brands in sitting out Super Bowl – AP News
Iconic brands sitting out this year’s big game seem to be due to two things, both related to the pandemic. The first is that many marketing budgets have been cut and a multi-million dollar commercial may not be the most important line item on a company’s budget. The second is a push by many companies to appear to exhibit empathy during this time. We have seen this in adjusted creative during 2020 but now it is affecting major marketing decisions as well. However, do not think too highly of AB InBev just yet as they are still running ads for Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and their new seltzers.
Coors pulls from ‘Inception’ to insert brand into dreams before Super Bowl LV
Psychology and marketing have always been closely intertwined but this campaign definitely takes it a step further than ever before. Coors worked with sleep scientists to identify how to plant dreams related to their product into customers’ heads. Although this mainly seems like a stunt to increase publicity prior to Super Bowl weekend, it does explore the possibilities of how marketing and psychology can work together in the future to produce interesting campaigns.
Miller Lite offers Super Bowl fans calorie-burning distraction in shot across Michelob’s bow
This is another attempt by Molson Coors to combat being blocked out of Super Bowl advertising and try to stay relevant during a time usually crowded by their main competitor AB InBev. The campaign is intended to distract viewers from a Michelob Ultra commercial during the big game and enter them into a contest for free Miller Lite. Aside from the direct impact of distracting viewers, this should be a successful campaign to push viewers to interact with the brand in different channels than usual by bringing them into the digital space.
State Farm will air its first Super Bowl commercial
What do you do when the football season is over and both of your paid endorsers look to both be headed to the big game? You run your first big game ad of course! A few weeks ago, it was likely that both State Farm endorsed quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahommes, were destined for the big game. State Farm has played on this throughout the playoffs but even now that they are down to only one of their endorsed quarterbacks, they are planning to make their debut on Sunday.
Super Bowl 2021: Watch all the commercials released so far
With a focus on individualism, technology, and of course celebrity cameos, this year’s commercials give us a good mixture of classic Super Bowl fun, reflection on a hard year, and pushing forward to a brighter future. Here is your chance to get a sneak peak of the ads before Sunday!
