Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light, still recovering from a 2023 boycott ignited by a marketing campaign featuring trans activist Dylan Mulvaney, has unveiled a new brand ambassador aimed at winning back its conservative customer base. This time, the beer company is turning to comedian Shane Gillis, known for his unconventional and sometimes controversial humor.
The new ad campaign, geared towards college football fans, features Gillis in a spot titled “The Dean’s Office.” The ad playfully highlights the difficulty of resisting a cold Bud Light, with Gillis commenting, “I like football and beer, especially Bud Light.” The ad campaign will launch on August 31st during college football games broadcast on NBC, ABC, and ESPN.
The partnership is a strategic move by Bud Light to tap into a loyal demographic of beer drinkers who often identify with college football. This effort follows the launch of “Easy to Sunday,” a similar NFL-themed campaign introduced in July. By targeting these passionate fan bases, Bud Light aims to regain market share and re-establish its brand image.
The choice of Gillis as a brand ambassador could prove to be a bold move, given his history of being involved in controversies. In 2019, Gillis was hired by “Saturday Night Live,” but was subsequently let go after old clips surfaced featuring him using racial and homophobic slurs. However, Gillis has since rebounded with successful projects, including a Netflix series “Tires” and a stand-up special “Beautiful Dogs.”
While the new ad campaign might attract backlash from some due to Gillis’s past, it could also resonate with the very audience Bud Light lost during the Mulvaney campaign. This strategy could be seen as a calculated risk, a gamble to reconnect with the brand’s core demographic and recapture its lost market share.
