Episode 62 - Budweiser Ad Reviewed by Johnson&Johnson Innovation, Honeywell and D3*
Have you ever considered how the gender pay gap is affecting sports stars and what brands can do about it with their sponsorship choices? The subject of this week’s Advertisers Watching Ads is just that: a case study by Budweiser on their approach to sponsoring the US women’s soccer league.
While the idea is great and it’s all for a good cause, does this action go far enough to address the root issue? Will Budweiser’s support also raise enough awareness to increase viewership and keep sponsors interested in the long term? Or does it all risk going back after this initial spotlight moment?
Check out the ad and see what our guests Janelle Hunt (Brand Marketing, Communications and Innovation Activation at Johnson&Johnson Innovation), Blake Mascali (Global Director of Content at Honeywell) and Michel Rothschild (Creative Contractor at D3*, the Frito Lay In-House Agency) thought about it all.
Transcription
The following is an automated transcript of the file, which is not 100% accurate but will give you a good idea of what was discussed.
Tom Ollerton 0:00
Hi, before we get on with the show, I just like to advertise the fact that Automated Creative are hiring account people of different levels. So, if you would like to be at the forefront of digital advertising working on accounts like Reckitt, P&G, Unilever, Mondelez, Mars, Beiersdorf, NIVEA, GSK, Cancer Research. Wow. Then please drop me a line and let's chat. My email is tom@automatedcreative.net
Hello, and welcome to Advertisers Watching Ads. My name is Tom Ollerton. I'm the founder of Automated Creative and this is a weekly show where brands watch other brands' ads and discuss what's good and bad about them. This week, the ad was helped to be chosen by Contagious, so please go to contagious.com and check those guys out after the show. But before we get to that ad, let's meet this week's guests.
Janelle Hunt 0:57
Hi, I'm Janelle Hunt. Marketing, branding, and events for Johnson & Johnson Innovation.
Blake Mascali 1:03
Hi, my name is Blake Mascali. And I am the Global Director of Content at Honeywell.
Michel Rothschild 1:07
And hi, my name is Michel Rothschild. I'm a Creative Contractor at D3*, the Frito Lay In-House Agency.
Tom Ollerton 1:12
Fantastic guys. Thanks for joining us this week, let's get to the work.
Tom Ollerton 3:10
Okay, Janelle. What was your initial reaction to that case study when you saw it?
Blake Mascali 3:15
So, I love what they're trying to accomplish. My only question is, overall, we're talking about how many people are actually watching soccer, and watching, watching the sporting event. So, ultimately, you're not going to keep your sponsors unless you're, you're really showing the return on investment for brands. So, I think that, you know, it's great to bring more money to the industry. But ultimately, if they're not able to increase the audience that are watching it, I don't think that they'll sustain it. So, I would have liked to see more about what they're, what they're doing to increase the interest so that they can actually keep the brands engaged.
Michel Rothschild 3:59
It is unfair, they're getting paid less, but also it is a business. So, you can't ask a league to match the salaries of this World League or these other bigger leagues which have more money. So, it's very unfair. This idea not only is about the money that gives but that money is going to allow the league to do a lot of things. Being able to have that influx of money will allow the league first to keep good players in the league, to create a league that didn't exist or was very small. I think that the idea was great. I think that, that it was such a cool and fun idea to bring brands in and to help that league grow. Because everybody talks about they should be equal. But at the end of the day, it's a business and it's really hard to ask them to pay the salaries that competitive leagues are paying, when they really are not that big.
Blake Mascali 4:43
I really like the style and the format that they chose. They match that modern documentary style that we're used to and I think they've added a level of credibility. And for me, someone who doesn't, doesn't watch soccer very much or know too much about the sport. It increased the weight that I felt when I was watching it. I also think it really helped that they have a fantastic story to tell here. And that they use the opportunity to educate people. And I felt educated, I felt like I learned something, I could go and talk to other people about and be a little bit more knowledgeable. And so, I think viewers can come away, having learned something about the dynamics of women's sports and the dilemma there. And that could trigger, you know, more conversation and sharing, which ultimately benefits the cause, the brand, the consumer. So, overall, I applaud the work that they did, but I also liked the way that they chose to tell the story.
Tom Ollerton 5:38
Being cynical, do you think there's an over claim here, or can Budweiser confidently say that every new scent that went into female soccer was from them?
Blake Mascali 5:50
I'm sure that they, that the campaign contributed to, to the awareness, whether, whether they can claim all 19% of that growth, I think that might be a little bit of a stretch, but... But ultimately, it is a good cause, you know, we do want to, to have more attention to female sports, and we... And brands should take notice. But ultimately, I think it also needs to come with an increase of viewership.
Michel Rothschild 6:26
Besides just pulling more sponsors, if they can really show the rest of the country, really the lack of sponsors, and the problem with it, the more they show that problem, maybe... The more you can start getting people also to ask brands and companies to get involved. Today, I think nowadays, more than ever, people are looking for relationships with brands. They're looking at brands for a lot more than just a product or a service, they're looking about where they're putting their money, how are they treating the environment, it's sometimes even more their political stance. As a business, at least here in the US, and probably in the UK and in Mexico, all leagues are a business for good or for bad. So, if they can take advantage of that reality right now in the market, which is we consumers want more from brands, and we'll ask more of brands, then maybe it can be a growing movement. So, maybe instead of focusing on the brands, and telling brands to join in, maybe tell that story to the people and ask people to pressure brands into, into pitching it.
Janelle Hunt 7:28
You know, anytime that you're that you're thinking from a business perspective, you are, you're thinking a little bit more in the near term. So, it doesn't surprise me that they went about it the way that they did. And I thought they did a pretty good job with the plan that they, that they made, you know, coming up with products that had nothing to do with beer and, and green labeling them trying to get people to pick that up. So, yeah, I think there's a there's room for a grassroots movement, certainly. Is Budweiser, the company or the organization to do that? Maybe they could take up that mantle. But I thought that they had a good idea. I thought it was well executed. And I do think that they probably, you know, it's probably going to pay them some dividends, taking a leadership role like that.
Tom Ollerton 8:17
So, Michel, what can the industry learn from this campaign?
Michel Rothschild 8:23
I think that the learning point was that they were very strategic in how to solve a problem. And they really, I think, were very focused on what the problem was and how they thought they could solve it.
Blake Mascali 8:32
The grassroots already being there and kind of working on the top or so it really is kind of getting them to join together and making sure that people are, are aware of the issue. And, and I applaud Budweiser for seeing the need. You know, working, working to close the gap. And I'm really inspired to see what they do in the future to continue, right? Is this a... Here they did it, they're done, or will they continue to drive this space? Right, they put the effort in... Will they continue to, to put some effort? Did they see the results that they were looking for? To do this? And now they're done? Or will they continue noticing that the marketplace responded and continue to build?
Tom Ollerton 9:22
So, unfortunately, we're at the end of the show now. So, I'm going to ask you to vote or give a score out of five using your fingers for the Budweiser activation. So, on a count of three. Three, two, one... Three fours. That is, that is a high score an ad for Budweiser. Congratulations to the Budweiser team. And, Janelle, Blake, Michel, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you all next week.
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