The Super Bowl will be played this weekend, but the broadcast will likely have a different feel to it thanks to the coronavirus. Companies who normally spend millions of dollars on advertising are backing out and Texas A&M professor Venky Shankar says it's because they're afraid of bad optics during the pandemic.
Advertising during the big game is more expensive than ever, with 30-second spots costing nearly $5.6 million. Budweiser and Pepsi decided against running ads and Anheuser-Busch is spending cash on vaccination messaging efforts instead.
Texas A&M professor Venky Shankar says it's not the right time for some advertisers, given the state of the economy, and adds there will be funny ads, but not as many, as companies try to strike the right tone during a pandemic.
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