We need each other. These challenges will pass. The very soil we stand on is common ground.

These are all lines from Super Bowl ads that ran in last year’s broadcast, when brands like Anheuser-Busch, Bass Pro Shops, and Jeep struck a serious tone in their messages to a weary public. This time around, though, marketers say they don’t expect to see many of those messages. Some are betting that viewers won’t want to be reminded of the past two years at all.

“Yeah, there’ll be serious ads again this year. But for the most part, marketers feel like the general public wants to try and put this behind them, or at least forget about it for a while,” Jeremy Carey, the managing director of Omnicom Media’s Optimum Sports, told Marketing Brew.

Rewind: Last year’s Super Bowl presented a trifecta of messaging challenges, with the pandemic, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and economic uncertainty all casting a shadow over advertising decisions, said Prashant Malaviya, a professor of marketing at Georgetown University. Long-standing advertisers like Budweiser opted to sit out the game and reroute ad money to Covid-related causes, while others delivered messages of unity during the broadcast.

• Even brands whose spots didn’t focus on the pandemic noted it, like Scotts Miracle-Gro. Its 2021 ad tipped its hat to the humble backyard, a backdrop for so many socially distant events, saying it “had quite a year.”
• Carey remembers “a huge concern over tonality” from clients that dictated many creative decisions. “No one wanted to appear not sensitive to the current moment,” he said.

This year, it will be different. It’s already evident in teasers that have trickled out ahead of the game. Lighthearted humor leads in Guy Fieri’s Land of Loud Flavors for Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, as well as in Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd’s walk down memory lane for Lay’s. Other brands are choosing optimism, like one of Budweiser’s iconic Clydesdales recovering from an injury.

“Advertisers will latch on to that innate and sort of subconscious desire that we wish [the pandemic] was gone and present to us scenarios that are more aspirational,” Malaviya said.

Lighten up

Saulo Rocha, the executive creative director and head of art at the agency David Madrid, agreed that more humor, more optimism, and more entertainment will be front and center during the game.

• “Brands are slowly trying to get back to what their normal message is,” Rocha said. “They’re not denying what’s happening, but there are other things and priorities that we need to talk about.”

Some advertisers are seeking humor to make a splash, including the Barcelona-based electric vehicle charging company Wallbox, which is working with David Madrid for its inaugural Super Bowl ad. As a first-time advertiser, “it would be weird to be very serious and very preachy” about the circumstances, Rocha said.

Read the full story here.—KS

The Washington Football Team will now be known as the Washington Commanders. Now comes the hard part.

• For the team that for decades went by a racist moniker, the official announcement of a new name marks the end of a search that began in earnest 18 months ago. But it also marks a beginning of sorts, as the football team looks to shed some of the controversy that’s clouded the franchise.
• “It’s about turning the page to a new chapter,” head coach Ron Rivera said in an interview on the Today show Wednesday. “We’ve had so many things that have happened that have been unfortunate, but as we go forward, what I’m trying to do is to get us to [say], ‘hey—buy into judging us now and to where we’re headed, as opposed to where we’ve been.’”

Looking ahead: The work is only just beginning, brand experts say, as the franchise must now determine how best to harness the new name and continue telling a compelling story to fans ahead of the fall football season.

“At the end of the day, the name is an empty vessel for the fans and the community who rally behind the sport to fill,” Ross Clugston, the chief creative officer of brand agency Superunion in North America, told us.

Marketing Brew talked to several marketing experts about the rebrand and what it could mean for the future of the team—click here to read the full story.—KS

If you didn’t already know, Morning Brew is on YouTube! Our shows cover the tech, trends, and companies you care about—in a way that won’t make your eyes burn from jargon or boredom. If you’re wondering how the world works (that makes two of us!), let’s figure it out together. Check out some of our newest shows:

• What’s a blockchain, a DAO, or an NFT? We explain why Ethereum matters
• Kanye or Elon Musk: Can you tell the difference?
• Meet the couple that made $70k from Magic: The Gathering cards

You know plant-based meat has gone mainstream when even the hot-dog crowd is cashing in on it.

But the industry could be at a tipping point. As Retail Brew’s Erin Cabrey recently wrote, “sales slowed down in late 2021, and it seemed like the space had been counting its alt-chickens before they hatched.”

Why? Well, on its Q3 earnings call in November, Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO Michael McCain said growth rates in its plant-based category had “evaporated.” And Beyond Meat saw net revenues in the US decline nearly 14% during the same quarter.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the alt-meat trend will end anytime soon, though. The space is just changing. “With so much competition, retailers, fast-food chains, and VCs may be getting a bit pickier about the companies and protein types they bet on in 2022. And brands will need to adjust their strategies to keep up,” Erin explained.

This could mean more marketing: As Erin points out, “Beyond Meat’s founder, president, and CEO, Ethan Brown, said on the company’s Q3 call that it would lean on its ‘most aggressive marketing to date’ in 2022 to mitigate the sales loss.”

Read her full piece on the future of alt-meat here.—MS

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

On the market: Here’s a guide for connecting with Valentine’s Day shoppers this year on Facebook Marketplace.

Round and round: How to create a compelling carousel post on Instagram.

Rev up: Tips to drive conversion rate optimization on low-traffic websites.

Live smarter: Say hey to Sidekick, our spunky newsletter sliding into your inbox with the internet’s best recs for smarter living, from entertainment and productivity hacks to recipes and more.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• What West Elm Caleb revealed about brands’ desire to go viral
• A conversation with Jackie Jantos, Hinge’s new CMO
• Majority of Americans want Olympic sponsors to pull out of games

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. Build-A-Bear just launched an ‘After Dark’ series of horny teddy bears
2. Nordstrom launches first podcast, The Nordy Pod
3. Snap Hosts Virtual Bitmoji Concert to Promote the Latest Jennifer Lopez Film
4. SKIMS launches ad campaign for men starring Pete Davidson

Keep scrolling for the answer.