bud light sign
Signage of Bud light outside a bar in New York City, United States.
Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images
  • Budweiser did not air a Super Bowl ad for the first time in 37 years, but Bud Light had two.
  • Bud Light aired two ads for its beer and seltzer during the first half.
  • Anheuser-Busch InBev, which owns Bud Light and Budweiser, has a $250-million-per year deal with the NFL.
  • Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Budweiser did not air a Super Bowl ad for the first time in 37 years – but Bud Light had two.

Bud Light aired two ads in the first half of Super Bowl LV, one for its beer and another for its hard seltzer. Singer Post Malone starred in the beer’s superhero-themed commercial, while the seltzer’s ad poked fun at the year 2020.

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev manufactured Bud Light and Budweiser until 2008, when it was acquired by Belgian firm Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Budweiser announced in January the company would sit out the Super Bowl and instead donate the advertising money to help raise awareness of the COVID-19 vaccines. Other veteran brands like PepsiCo and Audi opted not to advertise this year. 

"Like everyone else, we are eager to get people back together, reopen restaurants and bars, and be able to gather to cheers with friends and family," Monica Rustgi, Budweiser's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "To do this, and to bring consumers back into neighborhood bars and restaurants that were hit exceptionally hard by the pandemic, we're stepping in to support critical awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine."

Read more: Companies like P&G and the NFL are using quizzes and games to get people to share their data as e-commerce takes off and privacy regulation looms

Anheuser-Busch InBev also aired an uplifting ad in the second half of the game on how grabbing a beer means "we need each other." 

 

Stella Artois and Cutwater Spirits, other alcohol brands owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, aired regional ads, the company said previously.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and the National Football League established a $250 million-per-year deal from 2018 to 2022, ESPN reported.

The alcohol company reported declining sales early on in the COVID-19 pandemic due to the restaurant shutdowns. The company said it would use manufacturing lines to produce hand sanitizer and expanded its e-commerce business, Insider's Tanya Dua reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider