Peyton Manning Budweiser, Didn't Pay For Mention

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Budweiser denies paying for Peyton Manning promo - It was a face-palm moment for every advertiser who sweated out the months running up to the Super Bowl 50, making sure their 30-second spot was worth the record $5 million it cost them this year.

That moment came after the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 to win Super Bowl 50 on Sunday. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was being interviewed by CBS’s Tracy Wolfson, when he started to talk about postgame celebrations and how he’s going to kiss his wife and kids and “drink a lot of Budweiser tonight.”

Later, standing on the winner’s podium, with trophy in hand, he repeats that to-do list — kissing his wife and kids, celebrating with family and teammates, and that he’s “gonna drink a lot of beer tonight . . . Budweiser. Von Miller’s buying.”

Keeping a running tally on brand recognition at the game, sponsorship analytics group Apex MG Analytics said just one mention by Manning was worth about $1.6 million for Budweiser, meaning the beer-maker benefited to the tune of $3.2 million for those two mentions.

Budweiser sent 50 cases — 1,200 bottles — to the after party, according to ESPN.

It turns out Manning has done this casual-mention-of-specific-beers-thing before, such as after the Broncos beat the Chargers in the AFC Championship game in 2014. One would guess that he’s now back to the full-calorie Budweiser brew as he answered a question about retirement with this: “What’s weighing on my mind is how soon I can get a Bud Light in my mouth after this win.”

After that 2014 comment, it emerged from Beer Business Daily that Manning has a stake in two Louisiana Anheuser-Busch distributors. Manning’s marketing agent could not be reached to confirm that report.

And Budweiser wasn’t the only company to benefit from the Manning touch. Plenty of tweets circulated showing pictures and videos of Manning kissing John Schnatter, chief executive officer and spokesman for Papa John’s International , after Sunday’s win.

In October 2012, Manning became a franchisee of the pizza group in Denver, and bought 21 franchises in the area. The hashtags #Papa John and #Budweiser were trending on Twitter earlier Monday.

Twitter lost no time in handing down its post-game commentary on Manning’s affection for Budweiser and pizza moguls.

Budweiser plunked down for three Super Bowl ads this year, at an estimated cost of $15 million . They swapped puppies for a public service announcement against drunken driving starring Helen Mirren, promoted under #GiveADamn.

And then ran a less folksy, more high-tech ad featuring the famous Clydesdale horses. Finally, there was the much-hyped Bud Light ad, featuring Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer.

Active football players in the National Football League can’t endorse alcohol, but as many expect Manning may retired after Super Bowl 50, his future as a Budweiser spokesman might just be in the bag.