First, an ad from "Coca-Cola" titled "History Moves Forward" that juxtaposes the evolution of the iconic Coke bottle with landmark moments in Black history. Coke has been running different version of this ad for years, including in the 2007 Super Bowl. According to iSpot, the ad aired 115 times in February, generating more than 56 million TV ad impressions across networks including NBC, USA Network and Fox Sports 1, with the biggest-budget placements coming during telecasts of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
AT&T took to national TV to promote its "28 Days: History by Us" initative/website (subtitle: "Black History Told by Those Making It"). Various versions ran—the most-aired spot racked up nearly 22 million TV ad impressions—and the campaign overall ran across networks including BET, MTV and OWN, with the biggest-budget placement during the telecast of the 2018 BET Social Awards
This "Glowin' Up" ad from Macy's racked up just under three million TV ad impressions, according to iSpot. It ran 24 times and only on BET, with the biggest-budget placement during an airing of "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns."
And CBS Cares—the network's PDA-producing initiative—aired a series of short ads starring CBS talent who encouraged viewers to "learn more" about icons of Black history, including the late tennis champ and activist Arthur Ashe. All of the spots—iSpot tracked nine of them—ran only on CBS across a range of the network's shows, and collectively ran up millions of TV ad impressions. Here's "NCIS: Los Angeles" star LL Cool J talking about Ashe:
It's worth noting that while marketers may have found other ways to celebrate Black History Month, particularly on social media, when it came to national TV advertising, big brands didn't exactly show up in force. And some brands that aired notable Black History Month ads on TV in the past, such as Southwest Airlines—see its 2016 commercial below—opted out this year.
