Intentional Acts of Generosity

Summary: Read or listen to this week's message. We appreciate you being here either way. Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday! To pretend that anything else exists today is nonsense. This game is the most viewed sporting event all year. Last year, more than 100 million people watched as the Kansas City Chiefs took the title and this year it is quite likely that there will be more people will be watching. Not only is there the question of whether the Chiefs can repeat or if Tom Brady can manage to win again, but we’re also in the middle of a pandemic. We’re stuck at home! What else are we going to do? We’re desperate for something different than bingeing D-level sitcoms on Netflix. Part of what has always made the Super Bowl a draw for people who aren’t necessarily huge fans of the sport is the commercials. Companies this year are paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $5.5 million for a 30-second spot, and that’s not including production costs! If they want their commercial to stream as well, a stronger draw this year than it’s ever been, that costs an additional $300,000. Getting your ad in front of all those people, especially during the first half of the game when the most people are watching, is big business. This year, though, three of the most iconic and well-known brands who have been long-time mainstays of Super Bowl advertising aren’t participating. Budweiser, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi have all said they won’t be airing any commercials during this year’s game for their primary brands. Now, don’t let that mislead you. Budweiser is only omitting ads for its namesake brand. There will still be plenty of ads for Bud Lite and other beers. Pepsi will still air ads for many of their Frito-Lay brands and Mountain Dew. Still, they’re not the only ones saying “no thank you” to the high-cost, high-visibility ads. Hyundai, Ford, Olay, Avocados from Mexico, and Little Ceaser’s pizza are among the other brands sitting on the sidelines this year. To some degree, the move isn’t surprising. All three major brands have strong ties to the entertainment industry and have taken a severe revenue hit as people haven’t been going to the games or the movies or any other entertainment venue where they might purchase beer or soda. The hit to their bottom line has been frightening. Spending a total of somewhere close to $10 million on a single ad doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense. Budweiser, however, gave a different reason for not spending all that money this year. The statement on their website says: For the first time in 37 years, Budweiser is foregoing its iconic in-game Super Bowl airtime and reallocating the media investment to help support COVID-19 vaccines awareness and education through various marketing efforts throughout 2021. To start, Budweiser will donate a portion of its advertising dollars to the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative: one of the largest public health communication campaigns in history. Let me give this some monetary context. Last year, Anheuser-Bush bought four one-minute commercials for the Budweiser brand, an investment of roughly $20 million, give or take. Imagine the level of good that can be done if Budweiser donates even a portion of that investment! Giving back has always been a shrewd corporate strategy, but today, it’s a bit in your face. With everything that has happened in and around the pandemic this past year, there’s been more talk than ever about giving and philanthropy and what it means to help someone else. You’re going to see that theme repeatedly throughout the Super Bowl ads. The reason is that there are more people in need right now than any living generation can remember. Record high unemployment, disproportionately affecting single-parent homes and p...

Intentional Acts of Generosity

Directory

Click for all Categories