Budweiser\u2019s Brazilian unit won the Grand Prix<\/b> award at the Cannes Lions<\/b> for its “One Second Ads” <\/b>campaign, which used one-second clips from songs by artists including Beyonc\u00e9, Kendrick Lamar <\/b>and Foo Fighters.<\/b><\/p>\n
The campaign’s case study video, later removed<\/a> from YouTube<\/b> following Sony’s copyright claim, stated the company created one-second advertisements using \u201cthe minimum fans need to recognize a song, the maximum allowed without paying for music rights.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the backlash, AB InBev <\/b>has reportedly issued an apology<\/a> to Ad Age <\/i>recently.<\/p>\n In a statement to the publication, AB InBev\u2019s Brazilian unit, Ambev, said: \u201cWe deeply respect artists and hear the concern.\u201d<\/p>\n The company added in the statement: \u201cWe have a long history of supporting musicians, festivals and events. We\u2019re sorry and are working to resolve this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a long history of supporting musicians, festivals and events. We\u2019re sorry and are working to resolve this.\u201d<\/p>\n AB InBev, in a statement issued to Ad Age<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The controversy emerged after S\u00e3o Paulo-based Africa Creative DDB <\/b><\/a>developed the campaign for Budweiser’s Brazilian TikTok<\/b> page, where users could win coupons by correctly identifying songs from one-second clips.<\/p>\n The agency claimed their strategy generated 119% <\/b>more views than industry benchmarks and accumulated 68 million<\/b> impressions within two weeks of launch.<\/p>\n The campaign exclusively ran on TikTok, with Africa Creative telling<\/a>\u00a0Ad Forum<\/em>\u00a0they chose TikTok \u201cbecause music is a core part of the platform. Every post includes a song, and many songs go viral because of TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSecond, because TikTok is built around short-form content. People are already used to consuming super quick videos there, so it felt like the perfect environment for One Second Ads.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd since music is so embedded in TikTok\u2019s content, we could also target the right people with the right ads \u2013 based on the genres they interact with most. A rock fan would get a rock ad. A pop fan would get a pop ad. And so on.\u201d<\/p>\n Music industry professionals criticized the campaign, with Shez Mehra<\/b>, CMO at Audio<\/b> Branding<\/b>, writing<\/a> on LinkedIn: \u201cThe jury didn\u2019t reward creativity. They rewarded loopholes (which don’t exist).\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking about the now-deleted case study video, Mehra said: \u201cThe case study is gone. Sony hit them with infringement claims\u2026 What happens when a Grand Prix is built on violating music rights? I\u2019ve been saying it for years but I\u2019ll keep saying it. Music matters.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign\u2019s premise remains questionable. Music licensing typically requires payment for the use of copyrighted material. According to research from\u00a0Pandora Cloud Cover<\/b><\/a>, advertisers could pay up to\u00a0$50,000<\/b>\u00a0for a synch license to use a song in their ads.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you play a song without a required license and are caught, the consequences can be severe and include fines,\u201d according to Pandora Cloud Cover, warning that an award of statutory damages ranges from less than\u00a0$750<\/b>\u00a0or more than\u00a0$30,000\u00a0<\/b>under copyright laws.<\/p>\n
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