A Solid Cause Marketing Play, Souper Bowl Keeps Growing…

In a time when cause marketing is even more on the minds of young consumers, and as Super Bowl approaches, time to give a best practice shootout to a very simple idea that ties both together, and can help, with a simple act, move mountains.

It is the Souper Bowl of Caring, which was once a one weekend event and has now become multiple events, to mobilize young people to fight hunger and poverty in their local communities. Its vision at the start was to transform the festivities  around the game into America’s largest youth-led time of giving and serving. Young people collect monetary and food donations during the weeks leading up to and after Super Bowl Sunday. 100% of the money and food is then given directly to local charities of the group’s choice.

The idea started in 1990 at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, the Souper Bowl of Caring has branched out to include schools, businesses and congregations of all faiths. Together, they have raised more than $17o million in monetary and food donations. In 2023, more than 4,500 groups collected over $13 million of food and contributions. Today a number of NFL teams take part, here was the Bengals this week, and the event over the years has gotten the support of former Presidents Bush and Carter. This year there are little snippets of events from Texas to Utah, Missouri to Massachusetts, that pop up in search.

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While the Souper Bowl idea has had various fits and starts over the years, I came across it, as you do with many grassroots initiatives, very locally, in our church, St. John’s in Hillsdale, New Jersey. During the Sunday announcements a few weeks ago there was a request from the parish students to bring one…just one…can of soup or stew to the church for a collection for a local food pantry. Given that many chains, including Shoprite, do their January “Can Can” sales, with literally thousands of cans of items on sale for pennies, as people restock for the winter after the holidays, the timing could not have been better. Causes, like politics, are still local, and that simple little announcement cannot just make a difference locally, but can tie into a bigger idea.

In many ways it’s surprising that NFL partners like Campbell’s have not bought into the bigger picture of Souper Bowl over the years on a national level. Probably those with the shield who control the name of the game at the NFL might not let the play of words fly for such a massive brand, partner or not, but it’s hard to see how with cause being so crucial in messaging these days, that a little play on words with a big impact can’t get more light of day. Yes it a crowded field, and not everyone can rise to the top, but on a day that is all about celebration, a larger, more memorable splash with a bowl of soup seems like a really fun play.

Regardless, we will be sliding our cans into the mix this week, and hope that many others do as well. It’s a Souper idea, no matter what community you are in.