You Won’t See Avocados From Mexico at the 2021 Super Bowl—But It’s Not Why You Think

Avocados from Mexico—which has run Super Bowl ads for the past six years—won’t be bringing guac to the big game in 2021. It’s the first regular to publicly opt out.

But here’s the twist: The decision has more to do with the company’s pandemic-era strategy than a lack of $$$ or uncertainty about the Super Bowl.

• Avocados from Mexico started running Super Bowl ads because everyone loves the guy who brings guacamole to the Super Bowl party.
• But...parties probably aren’t happening this year. So, in reality, it’s social distancing that pushed Avocados out the door.

Pivot: Avocados from Mexico is currently focusing its strategy around mass personalization, developing a consumer database with 80 million IDs to build its arsenal of first-party data. The brand also doesn’t plan to ignore the Super Bowl completely—it’ll still execute strategy tied to the event across other channels.

My takeaway: Avocados from Mexico’s exit doesn’t necessarily mean other advertisers will jump ship—but perhaps it means different types of brands (ahem, Postmates) could hop on board for the same reasons Avocados from Mexico is dropping out.