Super Bowl Commercials Are Going to Be Different This Year Because of 'the Bud Light Situation': Marketers

By George C. Upper III February 9, 2024 at 11:08am

Last year, over 115 million people watched Super Bowl LVII. This year, according to Fast Company, the television audience could be even bigger.

That’s a lot of eyes on every commercial — which helps why a 30-second ad spot will put companies back to the tune of $7 million. (Note to fans of “The After Party”: That’s about 700,000 Hams.)

It’s also a lot of risk. Spending that kind of money to tank your company’s market share with a poorly chosen advertisement would be a double whammy.

That’s not exactly what Bud Light did last year — its boycott-instigating marketing campaign was related to the NCAA’s March Madness, not the NFL — but that disaster, which caused Bud Light to lose its place as the top-selling beer in the U.S. after 20 years, is still fresh on the minds of national marketing executives.

That’s why, according to The Wall Street Journal, viewers of the big game can expect commercials of a kinder, gentle nature, with little to offend.

Spots like this one, 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 inoffensive as possible, the Journal reported.

“It has usually been 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.

Will you watch the Super Bowl this year?

“The Bud Light situation has been so different because the brand has been hit very hard and it hasn’t really bounced back,” he said.

Viewers can still expect plenty of humor and celebrity appearances this year, but shouldn’t see anything tendentious.

“Nobody’s pushing the edge on these jokes and nobody’s hinting at anything remotely controversial,” Calkins told the Journal.

Bud Light will have a spot during the game — so surprise there — but this one will feature the “Bud Light Genie” — and, of course, Peyton Manning. (Public Service Announcement: Anyone playing a drinking game during the Super Bowl that involves taking a shot any time a Manning appears in a commercial should not be allowed to drive home.)

It also includes large groups of people partying at home, at event venues and a house party, all of them holding Bud Light bottles and not drinking any.

And that might be the best example of what this year’s Super Bowl commercials are going to look like — lots of jump cuts for viewers with short attention spans, plus music, celebrities, special effects and overall goofiness.

It may not be the most entertaining commercial anyone’s ever seen — but it doesn’t seem likely to offend anyone very much, either.

An Important Message from Our Staff:

We who work here at The Western Journal have fought for years against Big Tech and the elites who want to shut us down and then shut America down.

Make no mistake — nothing will be the same after November 2024. Will you help us fight? Will you help us expose the America-hating elites who will do everything they can to steal this election?

We’re a small group of people fighting to save the country for our readers and for our own family and friends. Can we count on your help?

At this point, Big Tech has cut off our access to 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone took 90% of your paycheck and there was nothing you could do. They’re trying to starve us out.

Donations from readers like you have literally helped keep our lights on, and we need you now more than ever.

We operate on a shoestring budget, but with that budget, we terrify the globalists. Please help us continue the fight. Stand with us, and we will never surrender.

Thank you for reading The Western Journal and for believing in America.

It is a pleasure to serve you.

P.S. Please don’t let the America-hating left win. Stand with us today!

Submit a Correction →

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:

Advertising, Boycott, Businesses and companies, Football, NFL, Super Bowl, Video

George C. Upper III

Contributing Editor

SummaryMore Biographical InformationRecent PostsContact

George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.

@georgeupper

Facebook

George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.

Birthplace

Foxborough, Massachusetts

Nationality

American

Honors/Awards

Beta Gamma Sigma

Education

B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG

Location

North Carolina

Languages Spoken

English