Bud-weis-Out

The Super Bowl will look drastically different this year. No Pepsi or Coca-Cola. No Hyundai or Audi. And now, for the first time in 37 years, no Budweiser. Why? Let CMO Marcel Marcondes explain: "We don’t want to go back to normal. We want to get better, we need to keep the learnings, and we need to evolve.” Budweiser will instead work with the Ad Council to fund spots related to vaccine awareness.

Watch: Budweiser created a digital-only spot, narrated by Rashida Jones, to explain its plans.

AB InBev still buys four minutes

Just because Budweiser is out of the game doesn't mean that AB InBev, which has the exclusive rights in the alcohol category to advertise in the game, is staying on the sidelines, too. Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer will each have a spot. Perhaps most interestingly, there will be an AB InBev corporate spot during the game.

More Super Bowl news:

Did you know that Tag Team, the duo behind the iconic song "Whoomp! (There It Is),” has never appeared in front of the camera since the song blew up in the early 1990s? That is until Geico brought them front and center for its latest ad that involves the pair scooping ice cream.

How it happened: Cecil Glenn (DC The Brain Supreme) and Steve Gibson (Steve Roll’n) told Adweek how the spot came together.

Slim Jim's has amassed a massive meme army that's affectionately known as the Long Boi Gang. It's one of the weirdest brand communities out there, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more loyal group of fans. The average engagement rate for each of Slim Jim’s Instagram posts is between 15% and 20%, towering over the median 1.6% rate for brands.

Meet the Meat Memes: Slim Jim and its agency 180 New York take Adweek on a step-by-step look at how it built the 1.2 million-strong Long Boi Gang.

On Friday, Pinterest revealed that it has a new AR eye shadow tool that lets users virtually try on 4,000 different shades of eyeshadow from all of the major brands in the space. It comes as retailers and platforms are racing to get AR tools online to help shoppers try on clothing and makeup or even do some virtual interior decorating.

Inside the trend: AR try-on tech isn't going anywhere, so here's the primer you need to succeed.

The Canadian beverage brand is raising money via Instagram for animal sanctuary Kindness Ranch.

Bring deserved recognition to your ambitious and creative colleagues succeeding in experiential brand marketing. For the 2021 awards, we've added new virtual and cause-related categories to showcase the tremendous pivots and initiatives executed in 2020. View the full list and submit your entries before rates increase on Feb. 16.

Content can be added directly to publishers’ websites or mobile articles.

If history is any guide, the capacity it builds for itself today will be available for clients tomorrow.

The location-based video ad company developed new products and partnerships in the pandemic.

Jesse Israel founded mass meditation movement The Big Quiet.

The growing lawn care company wants to be 'creatively led and data-driven.'

The government wants to hold the search giant and other online platforms accountable for royalties.