A-B may cut back on future Super Bowl ad spending

stlouis.bizjournals.com

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is expected to remain the largest advertiser in the 2006 Super Bowl, but it may be cutting back in future years.

Tony Ponturo, the brewer’s vice president, global media and sports marketing, said in a Dec. 18 AdWeek report that the company will be more cautious in the future because the long-term contracts may tie up money that it would want flexibility with in later years of a contract.

A-B said recently that the company plans to begin moving its ad dollars from TV to cable and the Internet to better target its dollars to the consumer. However, Ponturo said in the report that the company “still believes strongly” in the Super Bowl as an ad vehicle.

A-B is expected to have 10 ads in the 2006 Super Bowl, during which each 30-second ad is expected to cost $2.4 million, the same price as during the 2005 Super Bowl.

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD), the largest domestic brewer, manufactures and recycles aluminum cans and operates theme parks.