NFL fans saw plenty of commercials during Prime Video’s extremely successful broadcast of Thursday Night Football, but alcohol ads were not among them.
Amazon stated that all of its platforms, including Prime Video, are prohibited from running spots that advertise wine, beer, or spirits in the United States.
“Ad content must not encourage, glamorize or depict excessive consumption of alcohol,” the company said.
The absence stood out as beer producers and the NFL have a long and rich history together.
The idea of an NFL game without a beer commercial is “unheard of,” Brad Adgate, a media consultant and veteran observer of the ad industry, told Bloomberg, adding that “they go hand in hand.”
Still, beer companies run commercials on other NFL broadcasters. According to the measurement company iSpot.tv, beer brands have spent $60 million on TV ads in the last two weeks, with 70% of that money going to NFL programming. Corona, Michelob, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Modelo were the most expensive brands.
A professional football game without a beer commercial is extremely uncommon, according to Jason Damata, a spokesman for iSpot.tv. He also noted to Bloomberg that it’s impossible to locate an example of an NFL game without advertising from that category.