A SUPER BOWL FULL OF CHANGE

The biggest night in sports advertising is coming to town. It might look a little different this year.

Sitting down in 2020 to have a night of guess the advert and maybe watch Mahomes clinch his much deserved first ring, it would have been hard to predict what sort of year we’d have and how the Super Bowl might look and feel a little different in 2021.

Yes, Mahomes is back and will be going head-to-head with Tom Brady, who has never really left. But the landscape for the big spectacular advert has changed, Pepsi, Coca-cola and Budweiser are all changing tack following a challenging year for people across the world.

Pepsi, will still sponsor the half-time show at the weekend from The Weeknd, but it won’t take a spot, Coca-cola will not be sharing anything at all and Budweiser won’t be advertising for the first time in 37 years.

Bud won’t be entirely silent though, instead, the iconic beer brand will use its marketing budget to air spots meant to improve awareness and education around Covid-19 vaccinations.

Each year the adverts are often reflective of the mood in society, but this is a year like no other. Highlighting this further is Indeed. The online job site is airing its first ever SB advert amid high unemployment levels, aiming to provide hope and inspiration to what can be a soul sapping process.

The great takeaway is that whatever the situation, there is always an opportunity. Whether it’s moving to a more digital focus with advertising ‘dollars’ or new brands filling the spots because they have something the audience might need.

Here’s M&Ms with something that combines, digital with TV and gives us something everyone needs… chocolate (and something none of us need, gender reveal parties).

“On Feb. 3, M&M’s offered 50,000 people a sneak peek of its full Super Bowl 2021 commercial through Zoom. Yellow, one of the candy brand’s hard-shelled mascots, will host the event. Based on a 15-second teaser, the upcoming ad will feature a gender-reveal party gone wrong.”