Budweiser Joins Coke, Pepsi Brands in Sitting Out Super Bowl

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time since 1983, when Anheuser-Busch used all of its ad time to introduce a beer called Bud Light, the beer giant isn’t advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl.

Instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts.

The decision to not do an anthemic Budweiser ad — which over nearly four decades have made American icons of frogs chirping “Budweiser,” guys screaming “Whassup!”, and of course the Budweiser Clydesdales — showcases the caution with which some advertisers are approaching the Super Bowl with during the pandemic.

The Anheuser-Busch move follows a similar announcement from PepsiCo., which won’t be advertising its biggest brand, Pepsi, in order to focus on its sponsorship of the halftime show. (It will be advertising Mountain Dew and Frito-Lay products).

Other veteran Super Bowl advertisers like Coke, Audi, and Avocados from Mexico are sitting out the game altogether.

These big-brand absences are just one more way Super Bowl LV will look very different from previous years.

Attendance at the game will be limited to 22,000 people, about a third of the more than 65,890 capacity of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. And Super Bowl parties will be more likely to be smaller affairs with pods or families.