The Super Bowl Goes Sober Curious

Another Super Bowl, another commercial featuring non-alcoholic beer. Maybe the NA movement is now a permanent fixture in the mainstream.

Given all the buzz (pun intended) about non-alcoholic beer in recent years, it’s easy to forget it was just two years ago that Heineken, featuring A-lister Paul Rudd, aired the first non-alcoholic beer ad for Heineken Zero, now a staple of restaurant and bar menus across the country. Remember when Super Bowl ads were all about Clydesdales, talking frogs, and inexplicably attractive people drinking sugary and high-calorie beverages? That ad ushered in a new era suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the commercials don’t need to be all about those things.

Fast forward to 2025, and yet another NA beer Super Bowl ad in the offing (albeit more of a cameo role this time, for Michelob Ultra Zero). According to recent figures published by IWSR, the U.S. market can expect CAGR growth of 18% from 2024 - 2028 for the non-alcoholic segment, with beer representing the strongest portion of those sales. As we’ve covered in the recent past, the category will only continue penetrating further into the mainstream, including additional restaurants and bars, sports venues, and yes, more Super Bowl ads.

We look forward to what’s ahead for the space and future iterations of the big game. Will mocktails make an appearance at some point? It will probably happen. A Super Bowl ad by Athletic Brewing? That frankly feels like it could happen as soon as next year. And what will follow those firsts, a celebrity-filled 30 second spot featuring kombucha? The possibilities no longer seem surprising.