'Saturday Night Live' puts on a show sponsored only by Budweiser (no joke!)
Filed under: Company News, Media, General Electric , Anheuser-Busch InBev
It might seem risky for a marketer to integrate its TV spots with a show known for its advertising parodies. But that's not stopping Anheuser-Busch from buying up all the commercial time on this weekend's Saturday Night Live to shill Budweiser. The October 17 show will air eight to nine minutes of commercial time, integrated with the programming -- all of it devoted to introducing the Bud Light Golden Wheat brand extension from Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), according to Advertising Age.The ad buy marks the first time in 35 seasons of the show that a single marketer has bought all its national commercial time, according to NBC. It's a clever ploy designed to grab attention for Golden Wheat, which the brewing giant introduced on October 5.
The sponsorship will include segments called "Backstage with Bud Light Golden Wheat," which will include un-aired clips from the show's history, the General Electric (GE)-owned network says. And to highlight the program's commitment to the brand, the program will air scenes from SNL viewing parties hosted by the marketer in cities across the country, NBC says.
Why is Budweiser hitting viewers over the head with its Bud Light Golden Wheat? It's just a way to break from the clutter in a crowded media marketplace. Aside from the Super Bowl and a few other appointment-programming events, many viewers honor the sponsors by hitting the mute or raiding the refrigerator. And with the advance of TiVo (TIVO) and DVRs, zapping the spots is easy.
But by selling the airtime to one sponsor, NBC is actually using an antique technique from the earliest days of TV, when single companies sponsored entire programs, like The Texaco Star Theater, complete with integrated ads that make them more TiVo-resistant. By integrating the beer into the program, Anheuser-Busch hopes the name and message of its new brand will stick with SNL viewers.
And that's not a small group of people. About 11 percent of those watching TV last Saturday night were tuned into SNL, making it the most-watched program for its timeslot, according to NBC.
Still, sponsorships and product integration aren't without their dangers. Remember the Starbucks (SBUX) deal to sponsor MSNBC's Morning Joe this year? Some critics viewed the deal as a blow to the integrity of TV news. But the bigger risk will be for Bud Light Golden Wheat. Will viewers think Golden Wheat is some kind of joke? SNL, after all, is notorious for its witty and sometimes vicious advertising parodies, and beer companies are anything but exempt. And anyone who remembers Adam Sandler and Chris Farley cavorting around a swimming pool for Schmitt's Gay beer knows that Anehuser-Busch is taking its chances.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
10-16-2009 @ 3:22PM
CA said...
I have noticed that the commercials have gotten pretty lame and cheaply made by their new owners, I guess that they didn't know that SNL has gotten pretty lame also.
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10-17-2009 @ 11:50AM
King David said...
Why wouldn't any sponsor want to sponsor a whole show -- THAT IS SO PATHETIC THAT THE NETWORK IS BEGGING FOR ANYONE TO PAY EVEN THE SHORT SIDE OF WHAT IT USED TO COMMAND FOR FEES WHEN THE SHOW WAS WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good move to THE FOREIGNERS who now own a former American product -- another example of the foreigners creeping into our societal structure. Glad I don't drink alcoholic beverages at all so I don't support these creeps, and an PATHETIC SHOW WITH NO TALENT AND NO TALENTED WRITING STAFF.
10-16-2009 @ 4:40PM
dano said...
Is CNN going to "Fact Check" Budweiser like they do Saturday Night Live? I saw that Barbara Walters said "CNN has no sense of humor."
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10-16-2009 @ 5:57PM
#1 bullet said...
Well,this will be the lasat week for this beer drinking SNL viewer to enjoy the show.Bad enough to sit thru ONE Bud commercial,now they want to bore me with" running the whole show " Hey AB, Try putting some $ back into the original recipe of Budweiser an perhaps some of the older beer drinkers will come back "to the fold "
A former Bud drinker ***********************
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10-16-2009 @ 7:12PM
Michael said...
Great job Budweiser! When will the TV industry smarten up and turn away the insurance, banking and pharmaceutical industries seeking commercial time? They legally extort our money and then we have to pay to watch them?
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10-16-2009 @ 8:53PM
Kerr Avon said...
(Hey Mr. Wheat !) YES?!?! bang bang ! Goldenwheat Has Just Been Shot !
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10-17-2009 @ 10:17PM
Glenn said...
Nice reference to the old Eddie Murphy "Buckwheat Has been Shot" sketch!
10-16-2009 @ 9:08PM
jude said...
Spend all the advertising dollars you want... the beer sucks!
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10-16-2009 @ 10:08PM
sparks said...
I won't buy any Anheiser-Bush product since they sold out to a European Brewer! Far better brews locally at microbreweries. Now they are divesting all their theme parks and Gardens! Phewy on them.
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10-17-2009 @ 7:44AM
Pat said...
I agree with Sparks...
10-17-2009 @ 9:49AM
Dumbasdon said...
I applaud you Mr. Sparks. Right On !!!
10-16-2009 @ 10:58PM
Hawaiianhobo said...
Is this the week Taylor Swift is guest hosting and singing? With all the teenyboppers watching their idol, they're going to be inundated with Bud commercials too. If I were Taylor, or her mama, I'd be dropping the appearance and come back at another time when the commercial sponsorship will be a little more diverse.
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10-17-2009 @ 7:50AM
Uncle Pullfinger said...
hope they keep Kanye West out of the theatre he will run on stage and complain because he isnt the host or the performing act
10-17-2009 @ 11:25AM
Faith said...
No, this week is Gerard Butler and Shakira! It would be inappropriate to have beer ommercials take over if someone young like Taylor Swift was the host or singer.
10-17-2009 @ 12:13AM
kemetica2 said...
This is a clever and evil scheme to promote beer drinking to under aged kids. With Taylor Swift as the talent on SNL..those AB promoters will be selling a product to a entirely new generation. This is an old tactic that has been used since the early 30's by rich and powerful corporations. If you get the children psychological hooked on a product..you'll have already set the stage for an brand new customer base..DISGUSTING
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10-17-2009 @ 7:55AM
BarbAL said...
Gerard Butler is the host with Shakira. Swift doesnt host until Nov 7th. Doesn't matter to me. I Tivo.
10-17-2009 @ 9:50AM
Rob said...
Christ, lighten up!!! It's just a commercial, if you all don't like it, don't watch!! TiVO it or something. Why does it seem like everyone is so uptight now?? Maybe AB just wanted to do something a bit different, and honestly didn't plan to market to kids. It seems like a good idea, and they paid for the advertising time, so let them have it. If you want advertising time, do something to make enough money to buy it like budweiser did!!
10-17-2009 @ 12:29PM
King David said...
You're right EXCEPT for one thing -- SNL HAS NO TALENT!! NOT IN THE WRITING DEPARTMENT NOR IN THE ACTING DEPARTMENT!!!! This show is nothing but "death warmed over". Thank God for Spike Ferenstein (sp), at least there is something that is humorous at that hour of the morning. And yes, we should bouycott any product that is now being used, made, or created by any foreign entity -- true, we may not have a lot of TRULY AMERICAN products to choose from but eventually we will after the foreigners leave us alone due to falling sales. We have become the targets for too many foreign entities (which are mostly fronts for other nefarious groups) and are wasting too much of our tax money doing things all over the world that OTHER COUNTRIES SHOULD BE DOING!!!!
Buy STRICTLY AMERICAN -- if you can find it. And watch Spike!!!!!
10-17-2009 @ 1:55AM
Mike said...
Budweiser is THE King of Beers
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10-17-2009 @ 9:41AM
CA said...
Correction: Prime Minister of Beers