Why People Never Actually Drink Beer In Super Bowl Commercials

If you've ever wondered how much beer is drunk during the Super Bowl — well, it's safe to say it's a lot! (Some estimates guess over 300 million gallons.) However, you won't see it consumed in commercials airing during the big game. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that in all those big-budget Super Bowl beer ads, no one actually ever takes a sip. They'll pop the can or pour a glass, but the beer never touches their lips. Believe it or not, that's not an editing mistake or some arbitrary FCC rule. It's actually a self-imposed standard in the U.S. beer industry.

The National Association of Broadcasters allows TV networks to set their own standards, and generally speaking, they don't want to show people drinking in TV ads. Therefore, beer companies would rather not take chances that might lead the network to nix their ad spots.

The Beer Institute, a trade group representing the American beer industry, has an advertising and marketing code that acknowledges depicting beer consumption is okay when media standards allow it. However, there are other rules surrounding beer advertising that could help explain why companies steer clear of showing people actively drinking in ads. For example, the rules say ads shouldn't show people drinking irresponsibly or in situations that require coordination and alertness. Avoiding depicting alcohol consumption altogether may just be the safest route.

Beer and the Super Bowl have a longstanding relationship. (Bud Light has even sent fans to the Super Bowl.) Companies know the Super Bowl offers a prime time to sell their products (check out the best and worst beer Super Bowl commercials of all time). However, beer ads stopping short of showing anyone drinking the product is nothing new.

The "no-drinking-in-ads" rule is so well known that brands have poked fun at it. In a 2014 Heineken Light commercial, actor Neil Patrick Harris stands with a bottle in hand but realizes the cap is on when he goes to drink it. The director explains to a confused Harris that he can't drink on camera because of "a regulatory thing." The ad plays up how strange the rule is — because let's be real, everyone knows beer is meant to be drunk. In a play on the "no animals harmed" film disclaimer, the commercial ends with, "No beers were consumed during the making of this commercial."

Alcohol advertising has a long history of self-regulation. Liquor companies voluntarily banned themselves entirely from TV and radio ads for decades, only returning in the 1990s  —although they still won't show anyone sipping a cocktail. Beer companies have just always stuck with a no-sipping-on-camera rule to avoid potentially ruffling feathers, and that doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon.