For some, the Super Bowl is all about football, but for many others, the commercials are the reason to watch. Companies shell out the big bucks for the ads; everything from a prime slot, to big-name stars to appear in the commercials. However, one major company is choosing to sit this Super Bowl out — for the second year in a row.
Why You Won’t Be Seeing Coke Ads During The Super Bowl
Coca-Cola has announced that it will not be airing any commercials during the game, choosing to focus on existing sports sponsorship deals. The soda company has set up ads for Coke Zero Sugar during NCAA March Madness, as well as soda ads during Nascar’s Daytona 500 in February.
It makes sense; the Super Bowl Halftime Show is sponsored by Pepsi, which means they get more press by default. Pepsi’s show has a power-packed lineup of California hip-hop legends: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, plus Detroit’s Eminem, and Mary J. Blige (the lone East Coast artist).
2020 was the last year Coke paid for airtime during the Super Bowl, spending about $10 million on commercials. For context, Coca-Cola spent $2.78 billion on ads for the whole of 2020. That number seems big, but the company has actually been cutting back on its ad budget. In 2019, it spent $4.25 billion in 2019 and $4.11 billion in 2018.
Why Coke Is Cutting Costs
One reason the brand might be cutting back on their spending? As consumers embrace healthier lifestyles and low-calorie options, sugar-heavy soda sales are going down. Brands like Pepsi and Coke have had to figure out what kind of alternatives they can offer people. For Coca-Cola, those alternatives include drinks like Smartwater, Aha sparkling water, and Coke Zero Sugar.
The Super Bowl might not be the only major sporting event Coca-Cola is sitting out this year. The soda company has publicly confirmed its decision not to spend money on Super Bowl ads, but what about the Olympics?
The Olympic games are taking place in Beijing this year, from February 4-20. Coca-Cola is not expected to run ads during the games, saying that they “will not run a global campaign” during the games. However, they are “still expected to have a presence.”
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