Just Advertising During the Super Bowl Could Appear Political for Brands

The Wall Street Journal

Just Advertising During the Super Bowl Could Appear Political for Brands

Amy Schumer’s ad boycott of one casts showing up as taking sides

By Nat Ives

Oct. 24, 2018 11:45 a.m. ET

Amy Schumer’s decision to support Colin Kaepernick by refusing to do Super Bowl ads is the latest sign that advertising’s biggest stage is becoming increasingly political for brands, marketers and industry experts say.

“Everything right now is so supercharged, and then arguably the Super Bowl is the lightning rod on the top of a tower,” said Bryan Buckley, who has directed dozens of Super Bowl commercials, including spots for brands such as Bud Light, Coca-Cola , FedEx , E-Trade and Monster.com.

Some Super Bowl ads already are stirring up partisan passions, like the 2017 Budweiser ad about the brand’s immigrant roots, which some called a critique of President Trump’s immigration policies. Now every spot is under the microscope, and the scrutiny is even creeping beyond the ads’ content, Mr. Buckley said.

“All of a sudden the event itself is controversial,” he said.

CBS, which will televise the 2019 Super Bowl on Feb. 3, 2019, can still expect to collect hundreds of millions of dollars for ad time during the game. The audience again will be television’s largest of the year. But some people will call advertisers’ presence a sign of support for the way the NFL handled Mr. Kaepernick’s racial justice protests when he was a player, industry experts said.

Mr. Kaepernick has filed a grievance accusing the NFL’s owners of conspiring to keep him out of the league because of those protests. In August, an arbitrator denied the NFL’s request for a summary judgment to dismiss the case. In September, Nike celebrated Mr. Kaepernick in an ad campaign that put the controversy back in the headlines. Mr. Trump called it a “terrible message.”

“I personally told my reps I wouldn’t do a Super Bowl commercial this year,” Ms. Schumer wrote on Instagram last Friday as she discussed NFL player protests, adding, “Hitting the nfl with the advertisers is the only way to really hurt them.” She has appeared in one Super Bowl ad, a 2016 spot for Bud Light.

Advertising in the Super Bowl is likely to become more fraught, even for brands and ads that don’t try to take stands, said Jonathan Mildenhall, co-founder and chief executive of the consultancy TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. He was previously chief marketing officer at Airbnb Inc., where he helped create a 2017 Super Bowl ad with a tolerance theme.

“All endorsement is support for the NFL and the cultural role the Super Bowl plays in society,” Mr. Mildenhall said in an email. “It used to be proudly middle America. Now it has a divided narrative.”

It is getting harder for marketers to project neutrality in general, said Keith Johnston, vice president and research director at Forrester. “People are going to just have to pick a side,” he said. “You’re either for something or against something and you’re either going to make money or not make money.”

(That’s true for Ms. Schumer as well, Mr. Johnston said: “She’s making a stand on behalf of her personal brand.”)

“There will be some that will follow Amy and say we’re not going to advertise on the Super Bowl because we don’t approve of the NFL’s behavior,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of Metaforce, a marketing consulting firm. “But the challenge for most is that there are incredibly few opportunities to reach as many people in as powerful a way as the Super Bowl.”

Staying away also might not achieve as much as Ms. Schumer hopes. “Will anyone remember who did not appear in Super Bowl ads?” said Diana Mutz, Samuel A. Stouffer professor of political science and communication at University of Pennsylvania. “Or does the attention and influence necessarily fall to those who do? My guess is the latter.”

CBS declined to comment. The NFL didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

Mr. Buckley said the Super Bowl remains advertising’s greatest event, and is actually more interesting right now. “Maybe a blue-chipper gets nervous and pulls out,” he said. “Then you’ll have the next rebel brand—they’ll just jump on that opportunity, knowing they can get that slot.”