Here in New Zealand we aren’t very exposed to the beer Bud Light, but if you engage with almost any American sport you will be aware of the brand and their bright blue cans. And if you don’t watch any American sports, you might be familiar with their marketing debacle in 2023.
In this article I will explore the events that have taken place that lead to their new marketing campaign featuring Shane Gillis, Post Malone and Peyton Manning drinking beer on deck chairs.
Ever since its creation in 1982, Bud Light has been Americas most recognised beer brand on the market. Even though they face stiff competition from other brands, they have had a healthy share of the market for almost 50 years.
Historically, the beer has been marketed to the all-American beer drinker in a light hearted fun tone. A strategy that has proven well for a lot of wide market beer brands all over the world. It has built its reputation on humour and cultural relevance. (e.g the “Dilly Dilly campaign”)
So it really is no surprise that when the brand tried to tackle the somewhat sensitive conversation around inclusivity, it back fired.
In 2023, Bud light did a relatively small but culturally significant campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Compared to campaigns like “Dilly Dilly”, marketing spend was tiny but the message behind it was gigantic in the eyes of the all-American beer drinking audience.
There wasn’t much of an idea for the campaign and it was almost just a product placement in a few posts that went on Tik-Tok and Instagram. The goal of the campaign was to try and diversify the brand's audience and was aimed at Dylan’s followers. What Bud Light failed to do was take into account how this would make their existing ‘tribe’ feel.
It wasn’t good.
The campaign went viral, and it definitely wasn’t what Bud Light expected.
We have to remember the existing audience - heavily male, beer drinking, UFC watching, AFL fanatical sports fans. So when this audience saw it, they instantly got the feeling that their favourite beer brand has gone ‘woke’. Quickly enough, that same audience started to feel if they were seen drinking the beer after the campaign, people would think they’ve gone ‘woke’ too. The power of brand association and their audience is a very real thing.
In its most explosive moment, the long time Bud Light drinker Kidd Rock took to social media to let everyone know how he felt about the situation. It involved hundreds of Bud Light cans, an Ak47 and influenced the biggest sales landslide the company has ever seen.
Want to eatch the video? Check out the video below. WARNING : Bad language!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qDE3L4c41Ds
Initially the holding company, Anheuser-Busch went quiet. My guess is that they were tugging their collars hoping this would blow over and everyone would forget the campaign.
But that didn’t happen.
They attempted damage control by releasing a statement trying to distance themselves from the controversial conversation around transgender people and even tried to shift marketing towards a more patriotic sports themed strategy.
But it didn’t work, and the decline carried on for months.
The backlash got worse and worse eventually resulting in a $395 million decrease in U.S revenue. Estimates suggest that the whole controversy could have cost the company 1.4 billion in sales in the year of 2023. It cost the beer its top-selling spot in the American beer market which Modelo happily capatilised on.
- CNN
Shane Gillis really is an all American beer drinking sports fan. He’s a comedian with an edgy, working class humour which fits perfectly with the original audience of the Bud Light brand. Throughout the whole controversy Bud Light had one member of their tribe who never faltered. Shane. He carried on drinking Bud Lights on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience and played down the whole viral thing publicly to his fans.
He was the perfect ambassador for the recovery of the brand, and Bud Light CEO Brendon Whitworth cleverly saw the opportunity and asked for his help.
Now they’ve teamed up with Shane, their marketing efforts have gone back to a self-deprecating, laid-back and most of all, completely non-political brand tone. The adverts are goofy, fun and return to back yard antics rather than a serious social message.
Bud Light have learned the hard way that brands need to recognise what their tribe needs from them beyond the product. Absolutely no one that was drinking Bud Light would sit around and discuss the state of transgender equality and rights within the American social and political system. It was a massive miss alignment that quite frankly pissed a lot of people off.
The new creative strategy aligns with what they know their audience are doing while they are drinking their product, they are having backyard parties, making silly jokes, watching sports and drinking beer. It’s exactly the light hearted fun that they want their favourite beer to encourage.
Using Shane Gillis as the face of Bud Lights return is a master stroke, he’s funny, genuine, about as American as you can get and is enjoying a healthy rise in fame from his comedy shows and appearances.
People who are in charge of brands need to deeply understand what their core audience beliefs and values are, because that audience will expect yours to align with theirs. That’s why they buy your product.
Sure, tapping into new audiences sounds like a great way to grow sales, but if those audiences are conflicting, you risk alienating your brand to both groups, resulting in a sales landslide.
It feels like it should go without saying, but don’t try to be something you're not. Shane Gillis is perfect because he is who he is and people like that. That genuine personality rubs off on Bud Light as soon as he is associated with the brand.
They will continue their relationship with Shane Gillis, they are likely to double down on the humour and irreverent narratives to position them back to the pre 2023 top-selling beer of America. One thing is for sure, they will be staying well clear of any political conversation from here on out.
And as Shane would put it, this might be the greatest comeback since Tom Brady led the Patriots back from 28-3 against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
Have you ever seen the magic of a good idea? I offer ideas and creative direction, concepting, art direction, messaging strategy, copywriting, campaign production, and media strategy to bring your brand's vision to life in different and interesting ways.
Find out moreMy branding services give you the confidence to stand out. I offer strategy and identity design, team workshops, vision and mission development, positioning, logos, visual identity, and website design.
Find out more
