This year’s Super Bowl will be like no other for many reasons:
🏈 1️⃣ This is the first time a team will play in the Super Bowl hosting in their home stadium (Go Bucs!).
🏈 2️⃣ Budweiser is bowing out of the ads (Planters, Coca Cola, Ikea are also following suit). Budweiser has advertised every year since 1984. Anheuser Busch says that the money will go towards COVID vaccine and education instead. Note they will still allocate slots to Bud Light and Michelob.
🏈 3️⃣ First-time Big Game advertisers are making their appearance – DoorDash, Mercari, Fiverr, Huggies. Since, this year, more people will be streaming the game by themselves or with only close family members – no big gatherings – it’s no coincidence that the newcomers to the ad scene are brands that have benefitted from people spending more time at home due to COVID-19.
🏈 4️⃣ The fact that the game will be watched in smaller, more intimate groups with less noise (rowdy bar or house full of screaming friends), means more of a captive audience on the ads! More people will be watching on their smart phones rather than on a big screen this year.
🏈 5️⃣ In a normal year, brands advertising in the Big Game would make a point of reflecting the current zeitgeist in the tone and content of their ads. This year, perhaps not so much. The challenge for every Super Bowl advertiser is to balance the rather somber environment we find ourselves in with consumers’ desire for some much-needed entertainment and distraction.
It will be super-interesting to experience a very unusual and unconventional Super Bowl this year. Where and with whom will you be watching?
The big game between Kansas City and Tampa Bay is Sunday, Feb. 7 and you can stream it free on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.
