Budweiser: Case study

Credits & Description:

Brand AB-INBEV
DAVID Miami, USA Entrant Company
DAVID Miami, USA Idea Creation
SMUGGLER Los Angeles, USA Production
LOST PLANET Santa Monica, USA Production
BLACK HOLE Joinville, BRAZIL Production
HEARD CITY New York, USA Production
COMPANY 3 Santa Monica, USA Production
3PM AGENCY New York, USA PR
AB INBEV New York, USA Additional Company
Anselmo Ramos DAVID the Agency CCO & Founder
Gaston Bigio DAVID the Agency CCO & Founder
Tony Kalathara DAVID the Agency Group Executive Creative Director
Ricardo Casal DAVID the Agency Executive Creative Director
Juan Javier Peña Plaza DAVID the Agency Executive Creative Director
Veronica Beach DAVID the Agency Head of Global Production
Renata Neumann DAVID the Agency Producer
Kelly Allen DAVID the Agency Producer
Marina Rodrigues DAVID the Agency Associate Producer
Barbara Karalis DAVID the Agency Sr. Business Affairs Manager
Jon Carlaw DAVID the Agency Director of Strategy
Matias Candia DAVID the Agency Senior Planner
Paulo Fogaça DAVID the Agency Managing Director, Head of Account Services
Carmen Rodriguez DAVID the Agency Senior Account Director
Gabriella Fabbro DAVID the Agency Account Director
Monique Beauchamp Estrella DAVID the Agency Account Supervisor
Marcel Marcondes AB-Inbev Vice President Marketing Anheuser-Busch US
Ricardo Marques AB-Inbev Vice President Marketing Budweiser
Monica Rustgi AB-Inbev Senior Brand Director Budweiser
Jennifer Goldsmith AB-Inbev Director of PR
Henry-Alex Rubin Smuggler Director
Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody Smuggler Executive Producer
Drew Santarsiero Smuggler Executive Producer
Andrew Colon Smuggler Chief Operating Officer
Catalina Restrepo Smuggler Line Producer
David Devlin Smuggler Director of Photography
Saar Klein Lost Planet Editor
Michael Sobo Lost Planet Additional Editor
Juliana Rodzinski Lost Planet Assistant Editor
Casey Cayko Lost Planet Senior Producer
Krystn Wagenberg Lost Planet EP
Felix Cabrera Black Hole Finishing/VFX Producer
Tim Farrell Black Hole Flame/VFX Artist
Aldo Gonzalez Black Hole 3D Designer/Animator
Phil Loeb, Elizabeth McClanahan Heard City Mixers
Andi Lewis Heard City Producer
Sasha Awn Heard City EP
Stefan Sonnenfeld Company 3 Senior Colorist
Katie Andrews Company 3 Senior Producer
Ashley McKim Company 3 Executive Producer
Skylar Grey The Rumor Mill Vocals/Performed
J. Ralph & David Garza The Rumor Mill Performed
J. Ralph The Rumor Mill Produced, Arranged, Orchestrated, Engineered, & Mixed
Co-Produced by Bub Jess The Rumor Mill Produced, Arranged, Orchestrated, Engineered, & Mixed
Dave Bassett The Rumor Mill Produced, Engineered and Mixed
Marlene Bartos Yessian Executive Producer
Lars Makie Yessian Music Licensing
Brian Yessian Yessian COO Yessian Music
Michael Yessian Yessian Head Of Production Yessian Music

Synopsis
The Super Bowl is advertising biggest stage, with the biggest brands competing for the viewers' attention. Budweiser always represented American pride. So we were tasked with creating an iconic spot that talked to Americans in an engaging way that would also help sell the product. To do that, we first had to change the perception of the beer, which is the brand's biggest challenge today. By showing the quality and the care that goes into making the Budweiser beer, we highlighted the handcraft and dedication that every employee puts into every batch, showing that it's not machines running the brewery. But the challenge was to do so in an engaging way.
Strategy
We had to engage Americans with a relevant message around pride and change perception around their product, currently seen as "too marco to be good". To overcome these, we asked ourselves: "What does America needs to hear today? Does Budweiser have permission to say it?". We saw a clear tension in the country: A nation divided with angst coming from both sides. We realized America needed to hear a message of coming together in order to relieve this tension. And to find a clear role for Budweiser, we had to look no further than an existing relief program from the company of delivering canned water to those affected by disasters. The effort highlighted an important theme lacking in American conversations today: helping each other out. Simultaneously, showing the whole production process inside the brewery emphasized a more human side of the company, helping improve quality perception around their products.
Relevancy
The Budweiser Water Relief program was under the radar for 30 years. So to communicate this, we decided to highlight the real employees from Bud and their efforts in the world's biggest stage: the Super Bowl. The entire PR effort relied on putting the real employees at the forefront, having them in the media, giving interviews and taking the stage. The success of the effort prompted a commitment from the brand to open up another water plant in 2020. It became an example of PR results impacting true permanent social change at the brand, and national level.

Outcome
+2.1 Billion Impressions
98.35% Positive Sentiment
TOP #2 MOST EFFECTIVE SUPERBOWL AD - UNRULY
TOP #3 USATODAY ADMETER - USATODAY
+79 MILLION CANS DONATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RED CROSS
7.3 MILLION GALLONS OF CLEAN DRINKABLE WATER
Execution
We released the spot one week before the big game and had a PR plan in place to put the actual employees from Bud that appear in the spot as brand ambassadors that would tell the story from the water relief program from their own perspectives. Kevin Fahrenkrog, the General Manager from the Cartersville brewery, went on a PR tour giving interviews to different media. At the same time, we had a dedicated website highlighting all the efforts that Budweiser had done in the last 30 years. We also had Skylar Grey, the famous singer who did the cover of "Stand by me", releasing a music video of the song, and a commitment to donate 25% of the proceeds from the song to the Red Cross. The brand also announced the commitment to open a second brewery with water-canning capabilities by 2020, which generated another push in the media.
Campaign Description
We decided to break every rule in the game. In a battlefield filled with celebrities, animals, babies and slapstick jokes, we told a real story from the brand, featuring actual employees. The story of how for 30 years Budweiser has stopped beer production to create cans of drinkable water for communities affected by natural disasters. It's the philanthropic story of a brewery that partners with the American Red Cross to provide aid to the people in need. And in the process, we would show all the care, humanism and dedication that every employee in Budweiser puts in their job, how they go the extra mile not just in making beer, but in helping their fellow countrymen.