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The end of Anheuser-Busch's exclusive sponsorship deal opens doors for competing beers

It’s no secret (at least it shouldn’t be) that Anheuser-Busch is the biggest advertiser in the Big Game. That spend used to include between four and five minutes of airtime, but the brewer is scaling back its efforts to “only” three minutes of airtime in the 2023 game.

It’s worth noting that after 33 years of being the game’s exclusive beer advertiser (a contract that dated back to 1989), A-B opted not to renew that deal, which has opened the doors for other beer advertisers on the big stage. That competition this year includes Heineken and Molson Coors, which will use a spot in the first half to promote Miller Lite and Coors Light.

So how will Anheuser-Busch spend its 180 seconds of airtime? Half of that time will be used on a pair of Michelob Ultra spots (one 60-second ad and one 30 seconds). The other 90 seconds will go to Bud Light (60 seconds) and Busch Light (30 seconds). And, yes, that means Budweiser and its iconic Clydesdales will not be making an appearance. (Kind of. Budweiser will run a spot narrated by Kevin Bacon in 14 key markets, but the ad — check it out here — won’t air nationally.)

As for the other brews, we can expect to see Paul Rudd as Ant Man in the Heineken spot, while Molson Coors has been tighter-lipped about its ad plans. Either way, the end of Anheuser-Busch’s grip as the exclusive beer brand in the Big Game means more competition, and that’s always a good thing.