Benzinga | Jan 25, 2021 01:45PM EST

Budweiser Hopes To 'Create Goodwill' By Creating Vaccine Awareness Super Bowl Ad

Anheuser Busch Inbev NV (NYSE:BUD) will "create goodwill" by foregoing its traditional humorous SuperBowl commercials in favor of ones that support vaccine awareness.

What Happened: Budweiser's decision to end its multi-decade long tradition of creating funny commercials for the NFL's big match may come as a surprise, according to Arian Bassari, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData. But a focus on promoting the benefits of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus could improve its brand image that was impacted during the pandemic.

GlobalData surveys found that 37% of U.S. consumers want brands they follow to take a more proactive approach during the pandemic.

"Not running an ad might seem counterintuitive, given the loss of revenue, but Budweiser clearly sees the bigger picture -- as long as the virus continues, the market will continue to suffer," Bassari wrote in a release.

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Why It's Important: Budweiser and its parent company have certainly been impacted during the pandemic given the devastating impact on bars, hotels, restaurants and the broader foodservice industry. GlobalData surveys found that beer and alcohol drinks have become "less important" for price-sensitive groups than before the pandemic.

What's Next: Major brands that advocate for the public to vaccinate themselves as quickly as possible will "benefit from attaching themselves to what is very much the main focus of the government," Bassari said.

Anheuser Busch Inbev's stock traded lower by 2.9% to $64.64b at publication time.