Anheuser-Busch Wants Us to Grab a Beer — But When?
Something about saying “let’s grab a beer over Zoom” just doesn’t feel right. In a world of virtual cocktail hours and dining restrictions, it’s easy to drift off into a fantasy land of spontaneously grabbing a drink with a friend after work. Anheuser-Busch’s 2021 Superbowl ad, “Let’s Grab a Beer,” pulls you right into that fantasy with a wonderful story about the power of human connection through the simple act of grabbing a beer. Then, you remember that you’re sitting on your couch, ordering take out for the millionth time in the past year to avoid sitting in an outdoor igloo in the dead of winter.
Was This the Right Story to Tell Now?
The ad features a well-written narrative that many people can relate to. Even if you don’t drink per say, grabbing a beer could be replaced with any similar concept, such as grabbing a bite to eat, to get the same idea across. Depending on the person, it either reminds you of what you miss about the past, or gives you hope for the future. As AdAge mentions, there is a line at the end that mentions “when we are back.” Yet, it did not leave me hopeful for a future that is full of questions about what it will look like. It instead left me reminiscing about times I don’t know when I’ll see again. It reminded that I spent being 22 in my house on a computer most of the time. Perhaps some small touches, such as someone in the ad wearing a mask to work, could’ve grounded the story in our current reality.
What Pulls You In
The ad opens with an unfortunate, lonely scene of a rained out wedding that feels like the essence of 2020 for us all. It could’ve been good, but the worst happened. The orchestra music in the background draws you in emotionally. Followed by a wide variety of scenes, from being invited into a work meeting to trying to dig your car out of a pile of snow, there’s something that a wide variety of people can relate to. There is also an unspoken enemy, the idea of being apart, that the story tries to combat. The narration of the story uses a popular technique in public speaking — the pause. It allows the viewer to really absorb what’s being said. Overall, the spot really capitalizes on the insight that grabbing a drink is about building a connection with the person you’re with. That’s a feeling everybody is missing right now.
Positive Sentiment vs. Shareability
While this spot only earned 19,433,792 social impressions according to iSpot.tv, it still has a 95% positive sentiment rate. Compare that to Jeep’s ad, “The Middle,” which has 138,560,370 social impressions, but only a 65% positive sentiment rate. So, which is better? USC Online says that likeability is the most predictive measure of an increase in sales. Yet, it’s likely that more people are talking about Jeep right now than Anheuser-Busch. To achieve the most success, I think the two factors need to work together. If there was some form of future invitation to go get a drink at the end of “Let’s Grab a Beer,” people might be more likely to send it to their friends, co-workers, family, etc. It seems like having John Cena offer one million dollars for counting Mountain Dew bottles seemed to do the trick, with 51,610,559,725 social impressions and a 91.4% positive sentiment rate. Had Anheuser-Busch’s spot included some sort of shareable aspect, it would’ve positively added to the great narrative it features.
