MLB sponsor A-B InBev's Bud Light brand in a spot released yesterday "offers an ode" to baseball fans, and to the "hobbies they've had to resort to during the long, uncertain wait for the return of America's pastime," according to Kathryn Lundstrom of ADWEEK. When a push notification appears on a tablet during the ad "announcing the return of sports, it's as though life is breathed back into the poor souls" of fans. In a version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" that "acknowledges the desperation of sports fans amid the pandemic, fans sing their hearts out." The spot "will be followed up with celebrity renditions of the classic song, including participation from George Lopez, Kelly Rowland, Eric Stonestreet, Maria Menounos and Ryan Garcia." In another "lighthearted" ad, the beer brand "released a 15-second spot in honor of the stadium beer vendor." But rather than "walking up and down the long section breaks of ballparks, this modern beer vendor is walking up and down the streets of a neighborhood." Bud Light also is launching a sweepstakes where fans can "enter to win a home run ball that comes in a special case with certificate of authenticity" (ADWEEK.com, 7/21).
