When it comes to the art of advertising, it doesn’t get any bigger than the Super Bowl. I mean it’s not a coincidence that some of the world’s biggest companies are willing to pay as much as $7 million for a quick 30 second TV-commercial.
Even though the Qatar World Cup Final in 2022 reached around 1.5 billion people world wide, the US viewership was only 25.8 million. What about the Super Bowl? Last Sunday, Super Bowl LVII was watched by 113.1 million Americans and if you missed it, click here to read about some of the highlights.
Viewership
Changes Are Coming
Over the years we have gotten used to basically seeing the same companies appear on the screen. You’ve got big trucks, Budweiser horses, mobile phone providers, snacks etc. However, this year was different although in many ways so subtle you wouldn’t notice unless you knew.
What were they? Keep reading and I’ll tell you all about it.
No More Crypto Bowl
If you remember last year, the Super Bowl was jokingly dubbed as the “Crypto Bowl”. Why? Because as much as $54 million was reported to have been spent on flashy commercials by FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com and eToro.
Crypto.com featured Lebron James x2 during last year’s Super Bowl
Bouncing QR Code
It was simply the perfect opportunity for the crypto companies to break into the mainstream audience. Because it had never been done before, it got people talking about crypto. The one that got the most attention was Coinbase, showing nothing but a bouncing QR Code.
Coinbase Super Bowl commercial 2022
Close But No Cigar
Though we didn’t see ANY crypto commercials this time around, it doesn’t mean they were all gone. As a matter of fact, there were two companies that had secured spots for this year and another close to signing.
However, when the storm surrounding FTX came out, all of them backed out. It’s been a rough year for the crypto market as a whole and the last thing these companies are looking to do is to cough up $7 million for a 30 second commercial.
This is why there was no crypto representation during Super Bowl LVII.
You Can Always Count on the Regulars
With crypto taking a breather, we got to see a lot of the “regulars” advertise. Companies such as Doritos and M&Ms were joined by both movie studios and streaming services. Then there was the classic who’s who in the car industry and tech.
Michelob Ultra featured actor Brian Cox and tennis star Serena Williams
The End of an Era?
In the end, Anheuser-Busch was the biggest advertising spender this year. The beverage giant showed up with 4 commercials for a total of 3 minutes and 30 seconds. What brands? Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra and Busch Light.
There’s no doubt that they got a special deal for running multiple ads, but that is still a huge chunk of cash.
Exclusive Since 1989
If you have been following the NFL for a while, you may know that Anheuser-Busch has had an exclusive partnership with them since 1989. This meant that for the first time since then, they would not be the only alcohol company with Super Bowl commercials.
This is a huge deal and opens up the door for other alcoholic brands that never used to get an invite to the advertising party. Companies like Heineken, Diageo, Remy Martin and Molson Coors seized the opportunity and contributed with commercials of their own.
Recognizable faces from this year’s commercials
A New Generation of Drinking
The reason why Anheuser-Busch is choosing to redirect its marketing dollars is because of the changes in the overall alcohol market. Even though sales of beer in the US is as steady as ever, the market share has dropped from 58% in 2000 to 46% in 2022. This is because other spirits are becoming more and more popular.
A spokesperson from Anheuser-Busch told the media the following:
“You have a new generation that consumes alcohol differently and beer differently. (For A-B), to put all their eggs in this basket isn’t getting the return that maybe it once did.”
It looks like we might see an emergence of other alcoholic brands during the Super Bowl moving forward.
What Else Can You Get for $7 Million?
Marketing is a vital tool within business and the trick is to reach the right demographic. Doing it the right way vs the wrong way can make or break any company.
Let’s play with the idea that you have $7 million to spend and don’t want to go all in on a 30 second Super Bowl commercial, what else could you do? Well, believe it or not, there are a few other options.
Marketing
What Is Your Choice?
As you can see, there are a lot of other interesting and very effective options when it comes to marketing your brand. The question is… where would you spend your $7 million?
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