Pepsi and Coca-Cola have decided to break tradition and not run TV ads during the Super Bowl next month amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The variety was first reported Pepsi’s decision last week, with Coca-Cola follows on Friday with an announcement that it would not air ads on CBS’s broadcast of Super Bowl LV.
In a statement shared with The Hill, Coca-Cola said it had made the “difficult choice” to “make sure we invest in the right resources in these unprecedented times. “
“We toast to our fellow brands with an ice cold Coke from the sidelines,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Pepsi, one of the football event’s largest and most trusted sponsors, chose not to run any ads during the game to “double our existing 12 minutes in the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show in the middle of the Super Bowl.” Said a statement shared with Variety from Pepsi’s vice president of marketing, Todd Kaplan.
“We’re going to build it like we’ve never built it before,” Kaplan said of the halftime show, adding that the decision to scrap ads was not influenced by the desire to limit spending.
Pepsi did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for additional comment.
Canadian singer The Weeknd will headline the Pepsi-sponsored show, with the music star participating in a Pepsi ad campaign ahead of the February 7 game, the first time a Super Bowl halftime headliner has done so, according to Variety.
Coca-Cola spent about $ 10 million on commercials in Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIV in 2020, according to ad-spend tracker Kantar.
Coca-Cola’s decision comes after the Atlanta-based company announced it in December it would cut nearly 2,200 jobs worldwide, with 1,200 in the US, due to declining sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
Coca-Cola had been preparing for austerity since the summer, when it offered buyouts to nearly 4,000 employees in Canada and the U.S. Earlier this year, the brand also announced that it would shut down Tab, Odwalla and Zico, CNN reported at the time. .
Variety reported Friday that CBS has yet to announce a sell-off of its commercial game inventory, with the network seeking about $ 5.5 million for ad packages.
Last year’s football game generated about $ 435 million in ad spend, a new record, according to Kantar.