Tom Brady may be in the Super Bowl yet again, but one major change is coming. It’s not on the field, rather it’s what happens between plays.
Big-name advertisers are forgoing the millions of dollars of ad purchases and instead will put that money behind the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Anheuser-Busch will not be advertising its Budweiser brand during Super Bowl LV. Instead, it will be donating the money to coronavirus vaccination awareness, The Associated Press reported.
The company hasn’t released plans on how exactly that money will be used or how much it will spend, the AP reported, but it will be filtered through the nonprofit the Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative.
But the brewery will still have plenty of ad time during the game for its Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer lines.
Other brands had previously announced that there would be no ads for some product lines during the Super Bowl broadcast.
Pepsi won’t be advertising its flagship brand but it will still have ads for Mountain Dew and its Frito-Lay division. It will also be sponsoring halftime. The Weeknd is set to headline the show, NBC Sports reported.
Pepsi’s competitor, Coke, along with Audi and Avocados from Mexico have decided to not spend advertising money during the Super Bowl, the AP reported.
The move to not advertise has opened up the coveted, and expensive, ad slots to smaller companies like Triller, Fiverr and Vroom. M&M’s, Pringles and Toyota will also keep their ads on the schedule like games past, the AP reported.
Super Bowl LV will be played Feb. 7 when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, CNN reported. It will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, the home field for the Buccaneers, and it will be the first time a Super Bowl team has played at its home stadium.
This is the fourth trip to the Super Bowl for the Chiefs and the second time for the Buccaneers, but Brady has been to the big game nine other times and has hefted the Lombardi Trophy six times, according to the Buccaneers staff.
More coronavirus pandemic coverage:
>> Coronavirus: CDC acknowledges airborne transmission of COVID-19
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>> Coronavirus: CDC updates guidance for COVID-19 testing
>> Dangerous hand sanitizer list up to more than 150 products, FDA announces
>> Wash your masks: How to clean a cloth face covering
>> Fact check: Will masks lower the oxygen level, raise the carbon dioxide in your blood?
>> How to not let coronavirus pandemic fatigue set in, battle back if it does
Cox Media Group
