Long-time Super Bowl spot buyer Budweiser’s Big Game ad for 2018 focuses on its disaster relief efforts and aims to raise further funds for the NFL official brewer’s cause programme.
Over the previous 30 years, Budweiser has donated 79 million cans of water to disaster relief and last year alone its relief programme distributed three million cans to Texas, Florida, California and Puerto Rico
The beer brand’s 60-second Super Bowl spot, developed with creative agency David (Miami), is set to Skylar Grey’s cover of Stand By Me and is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Red Cross.
The core message aims to drive home the company’s commitment to its relief program and the commercial aims to help the brand continue to provide emergency water for those in need.
Debuting online on both the brand’s own digital and social channels as well as those of its parent company on 6 January, more than a week ahead of the Big Game, the ad focuses on the relief effort and the beer rband’s own employees (including those at Fort Collins County brewery which was added to its emergency water program this year).
Since 1988, our Cartersville brewery has helped provide 79M+ cans of water to cities across the U.S. that were impacted by natural disasters. https://t.co/646tjKDKzS To learn more about our water donation program visit: https://t.co/lNlRALnEsL #SBLII
— Anheuser-Busch InBev (@abinbev) January 26, 2018
“This year we wanted to use our Super Bowl time not only to entertain but also to bring a message that is really [about] purpose and to celebrate, of course, our incredible employees. The people that you see in the spot are working for the company. There are 23 employees featured including of course Kevin Fahrenkrog, general manager of the Cartersville, Ga. brewery,” said Budweiser marketing VP Ricardo Marques.
“We believe the Super Bowl will be the right stage to send this message and to reaffirm our commitment to this effort,” Marques added
Comment:
This is something of a change in direction from previous Bud Super Bowl spots: which were so long linked to the brand’s famous Clydesdale horses and focused on old school Americana emotions (such as the famous ‘Lost Puppy’ ad back in 2015.
But it does continue the emerging 2018 Big game advertiser trend that contrasts last year’s values-led Super Bowl spot messages which followed Trump’s election (including Budweiser’s own pro-immigration ‘Born The Hard Way’ founder’s origin story spot – see case study), with this year’s focus on actually ‘doing good’ rather than just saying the right thing in a ‘values message’ ad.
This Bud commercial becomes the second 2018 water-focused cause campaign Super Bowl spot from parent company Anheuser Busch (which owns the exclusive alcohol category rights to the NFL’s showpiece game).
Its Stella Artois brand ad is fronted by Hollywood super star Matt Damon who promotes the beer’s cause partnership with charity Water.org (see case study).
“Both Stella Artois and Budweiser having cause marketing related ads is intentional, to a certain degree,” said AB’s VP of community affairs Bill Bradley
“Water is an important resource not only for all our friends and neighbors around the globe but it’s also integral to our business, of course. The Stella Artois ‘Buy a Lady a Drink’ program with Water.org is an extremely important program to our company globally. On the heels of the natural disasters that occurred during 2017 and with it being the 30-year anniversary of our emergency drinking water program, of course, everything just lined up for Budweiser to highlight it.”
Links:
Budweiser
https://www.youtube.com/user/budweiser
https://www.instagram.com/budweiser/
https://www.facebook.com/Budweiser
David Agency
http://www.davidtheagency.com/
Anheuser-Bush InBev
