ST LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 14: The Budweiser clydesdale horses walk by the outside of stadium prior to the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Milwaukee Brewers during Game Five of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium on October 14, 2011 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Super Bowl is the marketing event of the year for advertisers and corporations, and this year’s edition is no different. It’s the highest viewed program of the year and commercials are expected to cost $5 million per 30 seconds for Super Bowl LIII.

Anheuser-Busch has been a mainstay during the Super Bowl, and during regular season NFL games, for many years and this year is no different. Last year, the company continued with their “Dilly Dilly” ads and despite those commercials being a pox on this country, it was an effective form of advertising that continue to push that phrase to mainstream audiences. This year, according to Adweek, parent company InBev is set to advertise more during this year’s game than ever before.

The beer company reportedly bought five and a half minutes of airtime and is the exclusive alcohol advertiser for the Super Bowl. In addition, Anheuser-Busch will have four billboards and a total of six bumpers, with one happening in each quarter and one before and after the game.

Anheuser-Busch’s strategy for the Super Bowl is to “elevate beer,” which is their goal with the eight ads, emphasizing a variety of products in addition to the usual suspects.

“The eight spots will each fall under one of three themes that serve the company’s mission to elevate beer: quality (Budweiser, Bud Light), premiumization (Michelob Ultra, Stella) and innovation (Budweiser: Copper Lager, Michelob Ultra: Pure Gold and Bon & Viv SpikedSeltzer).”

The three beverages under “innovation” are all new alcoholic products. Copper Lager is an amber lager, Michelob Ultra: Pure Gold is an organic beer, Anheuser-Busch’s first organic beer and Bon & Viv SpikedSeltzer is their foray into the seltzer market. Even though only one beer company is promoting during the Super Bowl, viewers are going to see a variety of different products being promoted. And if you’re going to launch new drinks, it’s best to do it when over 100 million people are watching and are actually watching for the commercials.

[Adweek]

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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