Is Bud Light back? Bud Light is an American icon and Bud Light commercials have historically been the pinnacle of adult, male-targeted comedic advertising. Think of the best commercials you've ever seen, the ones that make you laugh at the Super Bowl every year? Probably some Bud Light on that short list... Of course, some at Anheuser-Busch, particularly former VP Alissa Heinerscheid, thought that their billion dollar humor was "fratty and out of touch," which to me, seems like you don't know your audience. Specifically, she said:
“I had this super clear mandate. We need to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand and my — what I brought to that was a belief in — okay, what does evolve and elevate mean? It means inclusivity. It means shifting the tone. It means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive and feels lighter and brighter and different and appeals to women and to men. And representation is sort of the heart of evolution. You gotta see people who reflect you in the work. We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.” At the time of that "brilliant" assessment of her own brand's marketing, Bud Light was the best selling in all of the land. Welp, not anymore... That "elevate and evolve" mindset led to Bud Light partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April of 2023, which, in turn, sent the brand into a free fall. All kinds of celebrities and loyal Bud Light drinkers were encouraging others to boycott the brand, and Kid Rock famously
shot up a ton of Bud Light cases and cans. For a time, Bud Light was hard to move off the shelves, and the beer that once claimed the number one spot in sales had one of the most unexpected and unnecessary drop offs in the history of consumerism. And today, going on nearly a year and a half later, Bud Light has been surpassed by both Modelo and Michelob Ultra as the best-selling beer in America. Naturally, Bud has pivoted back to their target demo, partnering with the NFL and its stars like Peyton Manning and Travis Kelce, as well as utilizing more country music in their ad campaigns. And they've also enlisted the services of the very funny, not woke, and very non-politically correct comedian Shane Gillis to try and rehab the brand image. And I have to say, it might be working. Gillis worked with comedy partner John McKeever, as well as his
Tires co-star Steve Gerben, on a new Bud Light ad designed to welcome back college football, and guess what, it's actually funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdO5cmjnlKk Not bad, eh? Todd Allen, SVP Marketing, Bud Light, says:
“College football fans are some of the most passionate, dedicated fans out there and we are so proud to partner with teams across the country to make all of the special gameday moments even easier to enjoy. As a passionate college football fan himself, Shane was the perfect partner to connect to our college football audience with his distinct style of humor. And it doesn’t hurt that he loves a Bud Light or two on gameday.” Shane adds:
"I like football and beer, especially Bud Light. It was fun to work with McKeever and Steve on this." The ad comes in conjunction with the release of Bud Light's College Football can collection. https://twitter.com/budlight/status/1828419561827225737
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