Bud Light Superbowl Commercials - As Fizzy and Light as the Beer Itself!
By Ravi Arapurakal
As in several previous SuperBowls, the biggest single advertiser at this Superbowl XLI was Anheuser-Busch, with nine spots. Their Bud Light brand alone fielded six 30' commercials. Now, of course, Bud Light is already the market leader of this category. And this may be the reason why they seemed so complacent with their Superbowl advertising.
Let us look at Bud Light advertising at this Superbowl at all the key areas of scrutiny compelled by accountable practices for marketing communications.
Bud Light was launched about twenty-five years ago. It is the market leader of the light beer category. Bud Light must have a marketing strategy that involves at least two thrusts:
a) As the undisputed market leader, Bud Light must be perpetually trying to expand the market at the expense of ordinary beer, if only to capitalize on the perpetually swelling wave toward all kinds of lower calorie offerings in the food and beverage markets.
b) Bud Light must consolidate its market leadership position by continuing to seek more market share from other light beers, at least to compensate for the perpetual loss of share that results from new entrants to the category, and from the trial and other promotion offers that offer Bud Light's customer base to try out and switch to new or other light beers from time to time.
Yet there is nothing about Bud Light's Advertising Strategy that seems even to attempt these necessary marketing imperatives. Instead Bud Light has a conventional loyaty advertising strategy, suggesting that Bud Light drinkers are willing to make an effort or take risks to keep or get Bud Light. Such a loyalty strategy lacks the competitive bite necessary to attract either category share from other light beers, or category expanding share from ordinary beers.
Bud Light features a tag line that says: "Refreshingly smooth Bud Light, Always worth it." Can't imagine why they can't have one that at least is on strategy, and if not, why they can't at least have one that isn't so pedestrian.
All the six Bud Light commercials share a common executional format, featuring the highly common 'slice of life" executional format. They are all also genuinely funny. They are all surprising and amusing. And there is an attempt to dramatize the loyalty strategy in most (five)f of the six Bud Light commercials. The spots "Rock, Paper", the "Language Class", "Wedding", "Hitcher" and "Talking Apes", all suggest that Bud Light is worth something to Bud Light loyalists, as they seem prepared to undergo unconventional measures to get or keep Bud Light. The remaining spot "Slap" doesn't make any effort to dramatize loyalty, but was successful in being funny.
Humor is all good and fine, but cannot, in and of itself, be expected to provide any reason for customers of competitive light or normal beers to convert to Bud Light. All in all, a disappointing performance for a brand that is bountiful in opportunity, as the leader of a growing category.
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