A-B InBev Global CMO Pedro Earp said that the company will "most likely produce between six and eight ads" for Super Bowl LIV that will "extend beyond last year's total 6.5 minutes of airtime," according to Ann-Marie Alcantara of ADWEEK. For A-B InBev, the Super Bowl "represents a moment when brands can become culturally relevant and enter the conversation." It is also "proving to have a more long-term effect." Speaking at the annual Brandweek in Palm Springs on Tuesday, Earp said that A-B InBev "sometimes sees more impressions and views before and after than when the Super Bowl commercial actually airs, making the investment 'worthwhile.'" However, he added that the "challenges of producing work for an event of this scale because the investment needs to satisfy a variety of metrics, from the traditional ROI but also becoming part of the culture and remaining authentic to the brand." Earp: "For you to see the ROI, it's gotta be worth of the attention of the people. It's going to be true to all these metrics, but it's (also) gotta be good -- that's why the Super Bowl is so hard" (ADWEEK.com, 11/7).
STRONG START: Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on an earnings call yesterday that ad sales for the Super Bowl on Feb. 2 are pacing well ahead of where the network was at three years ago, the last time Fox carried the game. In response to a question from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research's Jessica Reif Ehrlich, Murdoch noted that Fox has sold out of its "A" positions and will set a pricing record on this year's ads. CBS last year sold some of its 30-second ads at a record rate of $5.3M and sold its last Super Bowl ad just hours before kickoff (John Ourand, SBJ Media).
