C-store Suppliers Gear Up for Super Bowl
NATIONAL REPORT — As Super Bowl XLIX draws near, multiple convenience store suppliers are announcing advertisements and other promotional efforts. Football fans can look to their favorite candy, snack and beer brands as they prepare for the game Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.
Anheuser-Busch will feature three ads spotlighting two marquee brands as the exclusive category advertiser for this year's Super Bowl.
"The mass appeal of the Super Bowl presents an unparalleled platform to launch 360-degree campaigns that ultimately deliver against our top priority: sell more beer," said Jorn Socquet, vice president, U.S. marketing at Anheuser-Busch. "With our track record, we know consumers look forward to our iconic spots and what viewers see during the game is just the beginning of what they'll experience from Anheuser-Busch in 2015."
The brewer's flagship brand, Budweiser, will debut a 60-second ad that highlights the brewing credentials of America's No. 1 full-flavored lager. A second Budweiser ad, "Lost Dog," features the famous Budweiser Clydesdales and a puppy that lost his way in an emotional story about friendship.
"The Budweiser Clydesdales have appeared in our Super Bowl ads for nearly three decades. They continue to serve as time-honored symbols of how we brew our beer: remarkable care and attention, sparing no expense, the highest quality and consistency," said Brian Perkins, vice president, Budweiser. "This year, they will live up to their reputation and once again save the day in a heartwarming story about best buds never letting you down."
In the 60-second ad, "Coin," an everyday Bud Light fan will experience an unforgettable night with '80s iconic old school fun simply by indicating he is "Up for Whatever."
"We believe that our new Super Bowl commercial and the Bud Light House of Whatever will make Bud Light the most talked-about experience at the Super Bowl," said Alexander Lambrecht, vice president, Bud Light. "Bud Light will continue to create unexpected experiences for 'The Perfect Beer' campaign in 2015 and win with Millennials through unforgettable, authentic experiences."
Meanwhile, PepsiCo Inc.'s Doritos brand announced the 10 finalists in its "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, who will compete for Super Bowl XLIX airtime, a $1-million grand prize and Universal Pictures dream job. Finalists were selected from nearly 4,900 submissions representing 29 countries, and the top 10 ads include a record four international finalists.
Fans can vote for their favorites at www.doritos.com from Jan. 5 to Jan. 28.
"Doritos fans are among the most talented and creative individuals out there — they've blown us away each year for nearly a decade," said Ram Krishnan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America. "This year's contest is no exception and proves once again that amazing content can come from anywhere. The competition is just heating up — we're excited to find out which finalist ad the world rallies around and selects as this year's grand-prize winner."
Two finalist ads will air during the Super Bowl XLIX broadcast, one selected by fan votes and one by the Doritos brand. The creator of the ad that receives the most fan votes will receive a guaranteed $1-million grand prize and the chance to work as a contractor for a full year onsite at Universal Pictures in Hollywood, where they will lend their talent to a variety of projects and future Universal releases, according to the announcement. All 10 finalists are invited to attend Super Bowl XLIX and watch the game from a private suite.
The 10 Crash the Super Bowl finalist ads are:
- "Doritos Angler" by James Bedford, UK
- "Baby's First Word" by Travis Braun, USA
- "Selfish Sneezers" by Devon Ferguson, Canada
- "The Lemonade Stand" by David Horowitz, USA
- "Trouble in the Back Seat" by Jason Johnson, USA
- "Mis-Spelling Bee" by Brian Kleinschmidt, USA
- "What Could Go Wrong?" by Alex Pepper, USA
- "Doritos Manchild" by Armand de Saint-Salvy, Australia
- "When Pigs Fly" by Graham Talbot, Canada
- "Middle Seat" by Scott Zabielski, USA
A qualified panel of judges narrowed the finalists down from 29 semifinalist ads.
"It has been an incredible experience to lend a hand in selecting the finalists for this year's Crash the Super Bowl program," said actress and panel judge Elizabeth Banks. "I'm excited to see which ad captures the hearts of fans and which filmmaker will win the life-changing opportunity to work at Universal."
PepsiCo also announced "Game Day Grub Match," a culinary competition in which student chefs from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) will compete to create the ultimate Super Bowl party dish. Four teams of student chefs will create unique recipes that must incorporate PepsiCo food and beverage products at the CIA campus in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Judges will include Food Network star Anne Burrell, chef and restaurateur David Burke, and New York Jets Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold. Two finalists will visit Arizona later this month to have their recipes sampled at various Super Bowl events.
"No Super Bowl party is complete without PepsiCo snacks and beverages, and no institution embodies culinary excellence more than The Culinary Institute of America," said PepsiCo Corporate Executive Research Chef Stephen Kalil. "PepsiCo products have been a Super Bowl Sunday centerpiece in family rooms across the country for decades. Putting our products in the hands of the next generation of great chefs to create one-of-a-kind game day dishes promises to make Super Bowl history by changing the face of football party food forever."
The winning team will be crowned Saturday, Jan. 31, during the Taste of the NFL's annual Party with a Purpose. This event rallies top chefs and NFL players to raise money in support of food banks throughout the United States. The winners will receive tickets to Super Bowl XLIX and a $5,000 scholarship, plus the PepsiCo Foundation will make a $50,000 donation to Taste of the NFL to support food banks.
The four competing teams were chosen following a campuswide search in December, when PepsiCo and the CIA asked students to submit videos stating why they are worthy of Super Bowl greatness.
Finally, Mars Chocolate North America invites consumers to be the most valuable player of their Super Bowl party and have the chance to win a trip to Super Bowl 50 in 2016. Mars is kicking off a two-prong Super Bowl-themed program to incentivize consumers and build excitement leading up to the big game.
In an instant-win sweepstakes, consumers can purchase Snickers bar singles and other Mars Chocolate singles from Super Bowl-themed displays and text SNICKERS or enter on www.facebook.com/snickers to instantly win one of more than 100,000 prizes including NFL merchandise, Visa cards, NFL/Snickers brand candy bowls and free Snickers bars. They are automatically entered into a sweepstakes with a chance to win the grand-prize trip to the 2016 Super Bowl.
Additionally, chocolate makes a "winning addition" to the game-day snacking table, so Mars will offer 10-percent Bonus Bags of its chocolate brands.
Mars is also backing Super Bowl XLIX with powerful marketing support, including a Super Bowl commercial, print ads, promotional radio, online video, innovative in-store displays, social media and more.
The Hershey Co. is also celebrating the football playoff season with its Playoff Pandemonium campaign, as CSNews Online previously reported.