What I find interesting is the fact that Budweiser feels they need to advertise. I mean, who hasn't heard of Budweiser? If you like it, you've bought it already and if you don't have any either a) you're out and will buy more, or b) you don't like it.
I'm no marketing expert, however companies always need to market. There are always new customers to tap to increase profits and stock price. Looking at that commercial, a few things come to mind.
It's highly accessible, it's not about a bunch of guys drinking beer and watching football. Women and even children can relate to the ad. They're definitely marketing to women, which is an untapped demographic. I first heard about the commercial on Monday at work, where a highly intelligent lady with 2 doctorates was just gushing about the ad and encouraging everyone to watch it. The sappy Stevie Nicks song gives it away that's meant for women.
Also, are they
marketing to children? Maybe, but probably no one can prove it. Ask any kid about the Clydesdales and they probably know about them, and girls especially love ponies. Now, no one is saying that they want kids to drink. However, they definitely want Bud to be someone's first beer, when they do start drinking. So again, it's all about developing new markets. My first beer was a Bud, and I probably had my fair share, before I found that there were better tasting ones.
What's the deal with name the baby? I don't want to name the baby. How many guys wanted to name the baby? Do women want to name the baby? Perhaps. Kids? Um....
The commercial is family friendly. They sell a product associated with addiction and drunk driving, yet this commercial in subtle way suggests that it's great to have a Bud, when taking your kids to Chucky Cheese's or Disney, etc. People drink anyway around their kids, but this can only serve to encourage them more. C'mon, it's the beer with ponies!
The pure genius is that there's not a single bottle of beer in the whole commercial. Rather it's a commercial about a family reunion, and what better way to celebrate than with a Bud? Notice, it's a family reunion without even showing a human family.
The commercial is also viral. I didn't watch the game, but yet I watched the commercial from the link above. It has 10 million hits thus far and has been posted in a runners forum.
Big win, win, win from a marketing perspective for Anheuser-Busch InBev! Look at their
stock price. It's up, up, and away for the last five years, during a miserable economy.