A-B InBev is still developing its fall NFL campaign, but the brewery plans to use current NFL players in its efforts after the league lifted its ban on active players being featured in beer ads. A-B InBev Head of U.S. Sports Marketing Nick Kelly said images of players would be seen in point of sale activation and in digital efforts. He said, "We're going to leverage all of our team partnerships to create 28, 50, 60 pieces of content that includes players, on top of everything we're doing ourselves." Kelly added the NFL lifting its ban is "monumental for us," because for decades, the brewer has been "trying to get as close as we can to players." Kelly said, "The ability for us as a leader in the industry to be able to go out there and tell such great stories about these players and what they do off the field and connect them closer to fans has been our objective since day one." Kelly added it "took some time" to convince the NFL and NFLPA that A-B InBev is "not out there to put beers in hands of players and make this a full endorsement like it was back in the '60s and '70s." Kelly: "We're literally trying to get one step closer to fans." Kelly also said A-B InBev has been "trying to basically get to a position of responsibly being there without pushing an agenda because we're not trying to force ourselves into any other place." He added, "That said, we do think that there's an opportunity for us to be more welcomed with open arms the same we are with MLB and NBA" ("Ad Age Marketer's Brief," ADAGE.com, 6/20).
