The Super Bowl 2021 is this week and companies have been preparing for it. The Super Bowl is definitely an opportunity for companies to shine, either through Super Bowl advertising or through the excessive consumption of a company’s products.
However, it is a different time for the Super Bowl this year. The progression of the pandemic means that fans can’t cheer their team from the stadium. Public health authorities have pleaded with people to social distance and watch the game from their homes in order not to make the Super Bowl event a Super Spreader of the coronavirus. And even if people want to watch the game from home, it has to be in small groups.
Luckily for companies, social distancing or smaller gatherings are associated with increased consumption of foods like chips. It is known that people enjoy eating guilty pleasures during the Super Bowl, whether it’s chips, wings, or BBQ meat. That means snack companies like Frito-Lay and restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings are going to see sales soar. Additionally, with every family watching the game from home, they are probably going to order these guilty pleasures for delivery or to go. In this case, delivery companies like Uber Eats and Door Dash’s sales are going to boost.
Buffalo Wild Wings’ president, Lyle Tick, said “It’s one of our biggest nights of the year”. The chain sold more than 11 million wings during the Super Bowl of last year. Mr. Tick expects to exceed this number this year even with the restrictions on restaurants. Frito-Lay was making more Snack’s this year than it did last year – nearly 70 Million pounds of chips.
In addition to the food, the Super Bowl represents a pricey but golden opportunity for advertisers. This year we will see advertisements for newcomers to the Super Bowl, like Indeed and Door Dash. Most of the advertisements we will see in the Super Bowl are of companies that thrived during the pandemic. Indeed, focuses on the emotional journey of job seekers during the pandemic, while Uber Eats’ advertisement involved themes of laughing and nostalgia. Other companies that thrived during the pandemic that are advertising are Door Dash, Chipotle, and Huggies, the diapers brand.
References:
1) Creswell, J. (2021, February 05). Super Bowl Means Snacking, even Without parties. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/business/super-bowl-snacks-food-delivery.html
2) Hsu, T. (2021, February 03). Super Bowl Commercials: To address or avoid the Pandemic? Retrieved February 06, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/business/media/super-bowl-commercials.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
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