Super Bowl LI, Born the Hard Way
The launch moment for Budweiser's 2017 equity campaign positioning Budweiser as the beer for those ambitiously chasing down their dreams.
We grounded Budweiser's origin story in the best of American values – ambition, passion and perseverance – while tapping into contemporary cultural narratives around immigration.
The hero film, "Born the Hard Way," debuted during the Super Bowl and became the most talked about, most viewed spot of the game, while driving positive lifts across key brand health metrics.
The work was awarded a Cannes Lion and won a Pencil at the D&AD Awards.
“America” Rebrand
Transforming Budweiser into "America" for summer 2016.
Drinking Budweiser at summer BBQ's and parties is an iconically American tradition. This campaign sought to build on that simple truth, while inspiring young beer drinkers with the power of the freedom they hold in their hands.
The idea, “America is in your hands,” drove 1 Billion earned media impressions, turned Budweiser into the most googled beer brand of 2016, and arrested sales declines for the first time in decades.
2018 FIFA World Cup Sponsorship
Global creative strategy for Budweiser’s largest, most ambitious activation ever.
“Light up the World Cup” gave Budweiser an active and participatory role to play in the hand’s of fans around the globe throughout the tournament. We positioned the brand as the ultimate jet fuel to throw on the energy and excitement of the World Cup.
The idea was the connective thread tying together a massive, fully integrated campaign that included global comms, interactive pint glasses, experiential, influencer and social.
Super Bowl 50 PSA
With the Super Bowl's first ever Drunk Driving PSA, Budweiser demonstrated they care too much about the beer they brew to not care about who drinks it.
With mass beer brands being culturally tagged as "too big to care" about the beer they brew, Budweiser used the Super Bowl to make a bold, provocative statement to the country.
People Magazine dubbed it "the best Anti-Drunk-Driving PSA of all time," while six out of 10 respondents indicated they were less likely to drink and drive after seeing the spot.
Budweiser was the most engaged with brand of the 2016 Super Bowl, and experienced significant lifts in "is a brand that cares" as well as purchase intent.
The message didn't end with the game – a full Anti-Drunk-Driving toolkit was developed and deployed globally, imploring drinkers to #GIVEADAMN.
“Bud & Burgers”
Claiming an iconic American meal occasion for the iconic American lager.
In 2015 the craft beer bandwagon was overflowing with epicurean snobsets. Budweiser, an American icon of quality and freedom languished in decades of escalating decline. A simple brand truth, however, remained untapped: Budweiser is America’s favorite beer to pair with Burgers.
The time had come for these national treasures to make a stand – to issue a proud rally cry on behalf of the good, simple, high quality things in American life.
The resulting “Bud and Burgers” campaign sampled over a quarter million young drinkers, galvanized the wholesaler and retailer base, and propelled Budweiser to its best sales trends in 10 years.
Effie Shortlist 2016.
“Prohibition Brew”
Innovation launch strategy and global toolkit development for Budweiser's first non-alcoholic beer.
From initial product concepts through to execution, brought a breakthrough non-alcoholic beer brand to market for the largest alcohol company in the world.
With massive barriers to trial, this is the first non-alcoholic brew to target true beer lovers, celebrating the taste, quality and brewing of the liquid. The strategy, "proudly brewed to be worthy of beer's good name", set a bold tone for the category, and guided the toolkit development.
Piloted in Canada in 2016, Prohibition Brew surpassed sales KPI's by over 20%, and will be introduced in markets around the world beginning in 2018.
Halloween Toolkit
Introducing a Budweiser-owned drinking occasion in China
With growth slowing in their most vital market, Budweiser needed to identify own-able drinking occasions to drive volume.
After an exhaustive audit and strategic exploratory, Halloween was identified as a massive untapped opportunity.
Consumer research in key markets revealed a powerful strategic reframe for how Halloween should be introduced to young Chinese drinkers: from a celebration of fear, to a celebration of fearlessness and self-expression.
In October 2016, Budweiser exported Halloween to China with a toolkit including branded drinking rituals, incredible immersive experiences, iconic OOH takeovers, and influencer-driven comms.
The toolkit solidified the holiday as a Budweiser drinking occasion, creating a brand record 4.3 Billion earned impressions, driving an 11% volume increase in October, and 20% lift in Bud as a trendsetting brand.