written by Audrey Kemp, The Drum
Not to burst your bubble, but there isn’t any beer in Bud Light Seltzer, according to the brand’s ‘100% hard seltzer, 0% beer’ campaign, released today.
The television commercial, developed by the Martin Agency, aims to educate consumers about Bud Light Seltzer, after a recent poll found that 54% of consumers believed the beverage contained Bud Light beer instead of what it’s actually made of: alcohol from sugar, cane sugar and natural fruit flavors.
Deviating from Bud Light’s slapstick realm of the past, the new 30-second spot opts for a cinematic, musical approach, juxtaposing an arid landscape of brownness with the vibrant color of bubbles. “100% hard seltzer, 0% beer“ is repeated throughout the spot, from the side of the semi-truck in the beginning to a title card at the end.
The work also highlights a new offering from the brand, called ’Sangria Splash,’ amid a recent uptick in the cocktail’s popularity, per IRI data.
The second part of the campaign comprises a card game developed with Rabble Games. Aptly called ‘Misconceptions,’ the game challenges players’ knowledge of fact versus fiction, asking them whether or not pineapples create one fruit per year and if Johnny Cash was a military code breaker before making it big in music. The game goes available for pre-sale on March 7 on www.ShopBeerGear.com for $25.
Released weeks before the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Bud Light Seltzer comes in a variety of flavors, from mango to black cherry. The brand has introduced over 15 seasonal and permanent packs to date, such as Bud Light Seltzer Fall Flannel, Bud Light Seltzer Retro Tie-Dye Pack and more. Previous campaigns included a Super Bowl LVI spot, called ‘The Land of loud flavors’ starring Food Network star and meme sensation, Guy Fieri.
Within four weeks of launching, Bud Light Seltzer climbed to the third most popular hard seltzer in the category. However, consumers remained confused about the drink’s contents.
“We didn’t have enough time, before the pandemic kicked in, to really land the idea that [Bud Light Seltzer] is not beer,” says Steve Wolf, vice-president of marketing for Bud Light Extensions. “[This campaign] does everything we need it to do: it helps address this barrier while elevating the brand.”
Campaign content will be seen in out-of-home, digital and social media. Aside from the new TV commercial, supporting content will also run on the brand’s social and digital channels throughout the month. Bud Light's spot was shot by Idan Menin.
