Marketers tweak Super Bowl ad strategy in post-‘simsub’ era

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Almost a year ago, when Budweiser and its ad agency Anomaly started work on the brand's Super Bowl ad – the story of founder Adolphus Busch's immigrating to the United States – the marketing team had to know that it was wading into political waters.

The American presidential election was in full swing, and Donald Trump had already suggested that the United States should ban Muslims from entering the country, at least temporarily. But with the ad launching a week after President Trump's immigration ban, Anheuser-Busch InBev is trying to avoid controversy, saying that its commercial is "not intended to be in response to the current political landscape."

The brewer is hoping that the story will resonate, however, on both sides of the border.

For years, on Super Bowl Sunday, Labatt Breweries of Canada has been competing with itself: The company has typically created ads specifically for the Canadian market, while parent company AB Inbev has invested heavily with different ads in the U.S. broadcast. Labatt has also been the presenting sponsor of the game on CTV for the past several years; this year, the network has not announced a presenting sponsor.

While Labatt is continuing to buy airtime on the Canadian game broadcast on CTV, it is changing its strategy. Partly, this is because it makes sense for global brands to have a unified global position, the company says. But part of it also has to do with the switch this year that will allow more Canadians to watch American Super Bowl ads on TV.

Canadians have already been able to watch those buzzed-about U.S. commercials, mostly online. Some who are close enough to the border can also get them by watching over-the-air TV signals. But "simultaneous substitution" rules have allowed TV providers to block the U.S. ads on American channels, subbing in those sold by the Canadian broadcaster. That affects the vast majority of Super Bowl TV viewers: more than 78 per cent of Canadian households subscribe to cable, satellite, or IPTV services, and these are overwhelmingly the choices for viewing in bars and restaurants as well.

In early 2015, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled that "simsub" would no longer be allowed during the Super Bowl, starting this year. Bell Media, which owns the Canadian rights to the National Football League's championship game, the highest-profile TV ad vehicle of the year, has challenged the decision and says it has affected ad sales.

"I can confirm we have more inventory [ad slots] available for Super Bowl LI compared to the same time last year and revenue for this year's broadcast has declined," spokesperson Scott Henderson said.

According to Labatt, Bell has signalled to advertisers that as much as 50 per cent of the Canadian audience could migrate away to the U.S. feed.

"We're going to get some [Canadian] audience for free," said Andrew Oosterhuis, Labatt's director of marketing for Budweiser. "We're still buying the Canadian feed, but we're using U.S. content instead of trying to fight another buzzy ad from the U.S."

The brand will still be doing a Canadian ad campaign emphasizing it connection to hockey – which has been its focus in the Super Bowl for the past five years – but will push it back rather than launching on Sunday.

Budweiser began experimenting with this tactic last year, when it ran one Canadian-made ad here, as well as one of its U.S. ads: a public service announcement about drinking and driving, starring actress Helen Mirren.

However, broadcasting a U.S. ad on Canadian TV isn't always as simple as buying time here: there are often regulatory differences that govern the fine print on ads or the claims they can make. Alcohol, for example, is a highly regulated category in Canada. One restriction is that celebrities or others who could have influence over minors cannot endorse an alcoholic beverage. So Helen Mirren was allowed to sternly tell drunk drivers to "Stop it," but unlike in the U.S., she could not have a Budweiser on the table in front of her while doing so. "Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer wouldn't be allowed to be in our ads in Canada," Mr. Oosterhuis said, referring to a Bud Light campaign starring the comedians, which launched in the big game last year and ended in October.

For this year's ad, the scene in which Adolphus Busch meets his partner Eberhard Anheuser had to be changed. In the American version, Mr. Busch tells the man that next time they meet, "This is the beer we drink," pointing to a prototype drawing of a Budweiser. Because the Canadian rules do not allow ads to imply consumption, the actor had to re-record the line as "This is the beer we'll raise."

Compared to the roughly $5-million (U.S.) that advertisers are spending for 30 seconds in the American broadcast this year (as always, prices vary depending on how much time an advertiser buys; during what part of the game; and how far ahead of time the deal was made) CTV's ads run roughly $150,000 to $200,000 for the same amount of time, according to sources. The lower price is more than just a correction for a smaller population: last year, an average of 8.3 million Canadians tuned in on CTV and RDS, while CBS averaged 111.9 million viewers in the United States. Canadian ads are just cheaper.

That's one reason why Toronto-based robo-adviser Wealthsimple Financial Inc. bought ads during the Super Bowl in Canada last year and is investing in the broadcast again this year, despite the simsub decision.

"This time last year, very few people knew about us," CEO Michael Katchen said.

The difference this year is that the company has also bought time on Fox, to assist with brand awareness as it expands into the U.S. The same ad, which has already been running on television since launching during the Golden Globes broadcast, will be shown on both sides of the border. "It's the only time of the year when consumers are actually looking for your ads," Mr. Oosterhuis said. "… I wish every week was Super Bowl."