Benzinga - by Maureen Meehan, Benzinga Editor.
As Super Bowl ads get ever more creative, sophisticated and humorous, they are, for many people, the number one reason for watching the big game. Okay, this year, the cool ads will probably be reason number two after the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance, which, by the way, is expected to set new Super Bowl viewing records if even half of the 280 million Swifties tune in.
In recent years, several newcomers have gotten into the Super Bowl advertising fun, such as hard liquor and sports betting apps. The newbie to hit the TV screens in 2022 was cryptocurrency.
This year, Bud Light, the beer brand under Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD), is returning to Super Bowl LVIII with a 60-second ad, following a consumer boycott last year when it sparked an anti-trans backlash over its collaboration with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Meanwhile, Cannabis Companies Have Yet To Make It Onto The Field
Alas, cannabis is still banned from showing its friendly flowers at the Super Bowl or anywhere on TV for that matter, despite being widely accepted by the U.S. mainstream. Thanks to tech billionaire Elon Musk, Twitter, now known as X, embraced cannabis advertising last March on its platform, making history in the process as the first social media site to do so.
Popular Support Notwithstanding
Seven in 10 Americans now think marijuana use should be legal, the highest level yet after holding steady at 68%. This is not to mention that the cannabis market is poised for explosive growth, with legal sales expected to nearly double to $50 billion by 2027.
That said, let us now praise one of the cleverest weed ads to be rejected by the Super Bowl.
NBC-TV Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) refused to air cannabis e-commerce and advertising platform Weedmaps‘ (NASDAQ:MAPS) heartwarming ad during the 2022 game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
“There's an irony in the fact that the biggest night for advertising will feature an array of consumer brands in regulated industries, from beverage alcohol to sports betting, yet legal cannabis retailers, brands and businesses have been boxed out," said Chris Beals, Weedmaps CEO at the time.
Meet the adorable “Brock Ollie,” one of the many "safe" icons for weed who says it all.
"Cannabis is here to stay … but can we just call it what it is? Can we talk about it?”
Photo courtesy of Weedmaps
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