Several brands are pushing consumers to get the COVID-19 vaccine with ads touting a similar message: Get the shot, so we can get back to normal.
Most recently, Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD)-owned Budweiser released an ad Wednesday called "Good Times are Coming." It features still photographs of people drinking beer together after a screen reading "Remember this?"
It ends with the language: "Good times are coming. Now we have a shot". as Jimmy Durante’s "I’ll Be Seeing You" plays.
Brands have a vested business interest in encouraging consumers to get the vaccine, but these campaigns are also relatively safe way to use their platforms for the good of society.
But encouraging vaccines is also a way to contribute to the common good without arousing too much controversy.
The Budweiser effort is part of the larger "It’s-Up-to-You" platform from the nonprofit Ad Council, which launched one of the largest public education efforts in U.S. history to get people comfortable with taking the vaccine. The Ad Council has released a number of spots, including some featuring former presidents and First Ladies and major sports leagues.
Other major brands have released similar pro-vaccine ads.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) recently released a spot called "Get back to what you love," which has been viewed more than six million times on YouTube. It shows a search box with terms like "quarantine" and "lockdown," then transitions to deleting the “sweat” part of “sweatpants” and changing the "virtual happy hour" to just "happy hour." It ends with someone typing "COVID vaccine near me."
BUD shares dipped two cents to $63.88.
