Lowe's Will Use Other Brands' Super Bowl Ads to Give Back

Instead of a Super Bowl commercial, Lowe's is joining other brands like Planters, Kia, and Budweiser by giving back. The home improvement retailer is partnering with the nonprofit Rebuilding Together to donate toward critical home repairs for frontline workers every time the word "home" is mentioned during a commercial. It's also giving another $100,000 to fund home improvements in the winning team's city. Each home repair is estimated to cost between $10,000 and $15,000, with Lowe's setting the cap at 32 mentions (one for every NFL team). Making the most of being at home is likely to be a popular theme among brands this year—even if nailing the tone is tricky. The brand will announce the giveaway through its own social channels, including paid posts. https://twitter.com/Lowes/status/1356630409891745792 "When we thought about how we wanted to show up at Super Bowl, the crowning moment of the football season, we just felt that the answer wasn't a commercial," said Marisa Thalberg, Lowe's evp and chief brand and marketing officer. "That's the right way we wanted to show up." While Lowe's has never run an ad in the Super Bowl, it has been around the game for years, most notably as an official sponsor. Back in April, Lowe's stepped in for Marriott to become the league's presenting sponsor for the first virtual NFL Draft. And at Super Bowl 2020, Lowe's built an entire village representing each NFL team for fans at the Miami Convention Center to cap its first year as partners with the league. This year, the brand skipped the experiential marketing opportunity and will use some of its marketing budget for the Rebuilding Together donations. Like last year, the retailer is the presenting sponsor of the NFL's Super Bowl Experience, a new football-themed activation built every year for fans. Lowe's won't be sending executives to the Big Game either. Super Bowl 2021 will feature several notable first-time advertisers, who like Lowe's have actually seen their business buoyed by the pandemic. The retailer got a boost from the rise in home improvement projects during lockdown. Still, the brand opted to sit out when it came to running an ad in the Big Game, though it has run several community-minded commercials since the pandemic began. "I've always believed that you have to be really purposeful with a Super Bowl ad because it becomes a thing unto itself. But frankly, and more importantly, we did debate it. And we just thought that what we wanted to do was invest our money a little differently," Thalberg said. When asked if Lowe's would once again sponsor this year's (presumably virtual, again) NFL Draft, Thalberg said it was a "good assumption." For all the latest Super Bowl advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2021 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories about the Big Game. And join us on the evening of Feb. 7 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials anywhere.

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Lowe's Will Donate to Repair Frontline Workers' Homes During Super Bowl

Home improvement retailer is paying it forward based on what other brands do in the Big Game

Ryan Barwick

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Ryan Barwick