Anheuser-Busch last night unveiled their advertising plans for Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XLVII, and the brewer will have 3½ minutes of air time, a "minute less than a year ago," according to a front-page piece by Lisa Brown of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. A-B’s marketing team said that it is "working hard to ensure the new ads match the punch delivered a year ago," when a spot featuring the brands Clydesdales topped the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter. The Clydesdales will be featured "in two Budweiser Super Bowl ads this year." One, called “Puppy Love,” shows the "bond between a Clydesdale and a puppy." A second ad titled "Hero’s Welcome” serves as a "salute to American military members returning home from duty." A-B again has the "first ad spot during the game" due to its exclusive beer sponsorship of the Super Bowl, but this year it will spotlight "packaging, not a new beverage." The opening slot "will focus on Bud Light’s new 16-ounce reclosable Cool Twist aluminum bottle." A-B also will use the Super Bowl "as a platform for Bud Light’s new ad campaign: 'Bud Light: The perfect beer for whatever happens.'" That "replaces the tagline 'Here we go,' which launched" at Super Bowl XLIV in '10. A-B plans to "once again rely on social media to extend the reach of its Super Bowl ads" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/15).
PLANS FOR BUD LIGHT: AD AGE's E.J. Schultz writes the Super Bowl is "a critical part of Bud Light's turnaround plan, serving as the launchpad for the new campaign, which marks the debut of BBDO" as the brand's agency. Bud Light VP Rob McCarthy said that the brand "will use two ads -- a 60-second spot and a 30-second spot -- to 'tell one cohesive story'" called "Epic Night." McCarthy said that the ads, which were shot in N.Y., "will include 'a number of celebrities' that are 'A-list in caliber,' without naming them." He added that the spots "will be teased in ads shown this weekend" during the AFC and NFC Championship games (ADAGE.com, 1/15). ADWEEK's Andrew McMains notes the "stakes are high" as Bud Light is A-B's "largest brand and still the best-selling beer in the U.S., though its market share has declined in recent years." A-B VP/Marketing Paul Chibe "described Bud Light's new direction as still funny -- in keeping with the brand's history of humorous ads, particularly on the Super Bowl -- but in a more aspirational way." McCarthy said that the brand's new positioning "stems from nearly a year of research into millennials." McMains notes A-B is "still deciding what quarter" the Bud Light ads will appear. The "game placement -- and the length" of the two Budweiser-branded commercials "also hasn't been finalized." But Budweiser VP Brian Perkins said that one "will last 30 seconds and the other, 60 seconds" (ADWEEK.com, 1/15).
