Anheuser-Busch has exclusive category commercial rights on the Super Bowl, meaning no other alcohol ads can air. So Yellow Tail has made local ad buys in 80 U.S. markets to get its Super Bowl commercial to most of the country, up from 70 markets a year ago.
“We’re at it again,” says Tom Steffanci, president of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, U.S. importer and marketer of the Australian wine. “We’re gluttons for punishment.”
This year’s 30-second spot is once again directed by Hollywood director Harald Zwart and once again stars Roopert, Yellow Tail’s animatronic kangaroo mascot, who’s also known as Roo. In this one, a man walks into his darkened home only come face to face with a kangaroo. Then — a surprise party breaks out, with music, wine and Roo.
Yellow Tail is back, despite the difficulty, Steffanci says, because last year’s ad campaign, centered around the Super Bowl, increased sales for the top-selling imported wine brand in the U.S.
