Last year, more than 115 million people watched Super Bowl LVII. This year, according to Fast Company, the TV audience could be even larger.
This is a big focus on every commercial — and it's what helps make a 30-second ad set companies back up to $7 million. (Note for fans of “The After Party”: That's about 700,000 significant.)
It's also a big risk. Spending that kind of money to chip away at your company's market share with a poorly chosen ad would be a double whammy.
this not exactly What Bud Light did last year — its marketing campaign to incite a boycott was tied to the NCAA's March Madness, not the NFL — but that debacle, which caused Bud Light to lose its spot as the best-selling beer in the United States after 20 years, is still fresh in the news. The minds of national marketing managers.
That's why, according to the Wall Street Journal, viewers of the big game can expect commercials that are gentle and kind in nature, with little to no offense.
Places like these from BMW:
In the wake of the Bud Light debacle, which led to the departure of the brand's chief marketer, companies are looking to be as harmless as possible, the newspaper reported.
“Usually what happens is that when a brand gets into trouble like that, it recovers fairly quickly and people forget about it and move on,” Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, told the outlet.
“It's been a very different situation for Bud Light because the brand has been hit hard and hasn't really rebounded,” he said.
Viewers can still expect plenty of humor and celebrity appearances this year, but they shouldn't see anything biased.
“No one is exaggerating these jokes and no one is insinuating anything remotely controversial,” Calkins told the newspaper.
Bud Light will have a place during the game – so it's a surprise there – but this game will feature a “Bud Light Genie” – and of course Peyton Manning. (Public Service Announcement: Anyone playing a drinking game during the Super Bowl that includes taking a shot anytime Manning appears in a commercial should… no He is allowed to drive home.)
It also includes large groups of people celebrating at home and at event and house party venues, all carrying Bud Light bottles and not drinking any.
This may be the best example of what this year's Super Bowl commercials will look like — lots of short clips for short-attention span viewers, plus music, celebrities, special effects, and general goofiness.
It may not be the most entertaining commercial anyone has ever seen – but it's unlikely to offend anyone much either.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
