Budweiser to Sit Out Super Bowl LV Advertising

In the midst of a pandemic sweeping the nation, America’s annual television football event the Super Bowl will continue for the 55th time on Feb. 7 - however, the regular advertising line-up will look a bit different this year. For the first time in 37 years, Budweiser has chosen to sit this one out, instead putting their money towards COVID-19 vaccine awareness and education.

Specifically, the campaign will focus on providing advertising airtime for the Ad Council and a public health initiative, COVID Collaborative’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative. The brand has also stated that it will continue to support vaccine education efforts through additional campaigns throughout 2021.

As of now, roughly 39 million vaccine doses have been distributed and only 19.1 million administered, falling short of the target set by the federal government. The task of vaccine education has become all the more important as America needs a large portion of the overall population to receive the vaccine in order to reach herd immunity.

Coke and Pepsi have also elected to put their funds, usually reserved for Super Bowl advertising, elsewhere. Pepsi focusing on the halftime show and Coke releasing a statement saying “We are investing in the right resources during these unprecedented times."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has also announced that the NFL are inviting 7,500 vaccinated health care workers to the Super Bowl to thank them for their service, most coming from the central Florida and Tampa Bay areas.

Super Bowl LV will be hosted in Tampa Bay on Feb. 7, 2021 between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with a halftime show headed by Canadian singer The Weeknd.