We're conflicted. On the one hand, Anheuser-Busch's pre-game release of all its Super Bowl ads will allow the HeyBeerDan editorial staff to sit back and enjoy our lavish game-day party without having to critique ads. But on the other hand, we've had our work cut out for us during the normally uneventful run-up week.
Already, we've recorded our impressions of three Anheuser-Busch ads: the Budweiser ad, the Busch beer ad, and the first of Bud Light ads. Loyal readers will know that, as of this point, we score A-B zero-for-three, sadly extending the brewery's long and disappointing Super Bowl ad history.
But hope springs eternal, especially when it comes to Anheuser-Busch's seemingly inexhaustible Super Bowl ad budget. Which brings us to the two just-released A-B ads, filling two-and-a-half more commercial minutes on the most expensive program of the year.
Bud Light's dog
The first is a 90-second Bud Light ad airing in addition to the already seen 60-second ad. When we heard there would be a second ad for the brand, we mistakenly assumed it would be a sister to the first one, maybe in longer form. So we thought back to what was in that ad. But, try as we might, we couldn't actually remember anything at all about the first ad. Never a good sign. We had to go check our archives.
As it turns out, the new, even-longer-form ad is different from, but only a bit better than the other one. At least it's more memorable, thanks to the Spuds-as-Dickensian-ghost device...
Already, we've recorded our impressions of three Anheuser-Busch ads: the Budweiser ad, the Busch beer ad, and the first of Bud Light ads. Loyal readers will know that, as of this point, we score A-B zero-for-three, sadly extending the brewery's long and disappointing Super Bowl ad history.
But hope springs eternal, especially when it comes to Anheuser-Busch's seemingly inexhaustible Super Bowl ad budget. Which brings us to the two just-released A-B ads, filling two-and-a-half more commercial minutes on the most expensive program of the year.
Bud Light's dog
The first is a 90-second Bud Light ad airing in addition to the already seen 60-second ad. When we heard there would be a second ad for the brand, we mistakenly assumed it would be a sister to the first one, maybe in longer form. So we thought back to what was in that ad. But, try as we might, we couldn't actually remember anything at all about the first ad. Never a good sign. We had to go check our archives.
As it turns out, the new, even-longer-form ad is different from, but only a bit better than the other one. At least it's more memorable, thanks to the Spuds-as-Dickensian-ghost device...
Where the ad fails is in the message it leaves with viewers. "I remember the dog ghost" is about all the Bud Light brain trust can expect to get from the audience. Why they'd assume this will sell beer is sketchy at best. The only potentially distinctive statement about the beer--that all your friends will like it--is spoken once, and so buried under an 89-second avalanche of unrelated dog-ghost stuff.
Those keeping score at home will note that, as of this point, A-B's SuperBowl team of ads is void of a single star player.
The best saved for last
Unless we're surprised with a yet-to-be-debuted ad, the final ad from the St. Louis brewery belongs to Michelob Ultra. And where the other four have failed to register any distinctiveness for the beers, how Mich Ultra beer is distinctive is precisely the focus this ad.
Those keeping score at home will note that, as of this point, A-B's SuperBowl team of ads is void of a single star player.
The best saved for last
Unless we're surprised with a yet-to-be-debuted ad, the final ad from the St. Louis brewery belongs to Michelob Ultra. And where the other four have failed to register any distinctiveness for the beers, how Mich Ultra beer is distinctive is precisely the focus this ad.
A low-carb-low-calorie beer for fitness-conscious folks whose favorite place "where everybody knows their name" is a gym, not a bar, is a clever delivery of a distinctive-beer message. No other beer can live in this place. It's so linked to Michelob Ultra that competitor MillerCoors simply gave up trying to create an imitative new brand to try and horn in. So Michelob Ultra continues as one of the very hottest brands in the industry.
Now, do you suppose selling the distinctiveness of the beer inside those Mich Ultra bottles--as has been done pretty consistently in its ad campaign for years--has anything to do with all that success?
(It was a rhetorical question.)
Now, do you suppose selling the distinctiveness of the beer inside those Mich Ultra bottles--as has been done pretty consistently in its ad campaign for years--has anything to do with all that success?
(It was a rhetorical question.)
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