Bud Light Super Bowl ad aims to win back customers

Bud Light is kicking off the new year with a 60-second advertisement that will air during the Super Bowl, one of the nation’s most televised events, in a bid to turn around lagging sales. 

The campaign, dubbed “Easy Night Out,” will center on a group of friends who encounter a “Bud Light Genie” that grants them wishes during a night out, including having Bud Lights magically appear. 

During the ad, the group of friends will encounter a star-studded cast from NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, singer and rapper Post Malone to UFC CEO Dana White. 

It’s one of three spots – totaling 2.5 minutes – that Bud’s parent, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has placed in this year’s Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers – costing the company millions. To put it in perspective, 30 seconds of air time in 2022 cost brands about $7 million. 

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For Bud Light, this marks a chance to drive sales as it continues to salvage its reputation following the boycott tied to its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney last year.

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Bud Light sales were down 29.9% year over year for the week ending Jan. 20, compared with the same period last year, according to the latest numbers provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams Consulting, which analyzed NielsenIQ data. 

During that same period, Modelo Especial, the Mexican lager that eclipsed Bud Light to become the best-selling beer in the U.S. last year, gained further ground. During the week ending Jan. 20, it saw a 10.8% sales boost compared with the same time a year ago. 

AB InBev’s market value sits at $107 billion, which is down from around $134 billion in March of last year. 

“With this year’s Super Bowl spot, we continue to be laser-focused on placing fans at the center by delivering classic Bud Light humor and by bringing them closer to top talent that span our other fan-centric platforms across sports and music,” Todd Allen, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, told FOX Business. 

Allen noted that “Bud Light’s long-standing partnership with the NFL is one of the most iconic relationships in sports and marketing.” 

Aside from its slate of Super Bowl ads, the company has also announced new partnerships with the UFC and the Olympics in recent months. 

FOX Business’ Breck Dumas and Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.