Beer drinkers now have more choices than ever piquing their interest – with new entrants as the category becomes more fragmented, alternatives like hard seltzer, and healthier, lower calorie options. As beer sales decline because of this, Bud Light declines along with the category. Bud Light needed to re-focus on how to retain their core customers. A typical brand message would not break through, so we set out to create a love letter from America’s favorite light lager, through a one-of-kind, long-term program that galvanizes and rewards our loyalists. And there would be no better moment and stage to kick off the program and express our gratitude than the 55th Super Bowl.

Bud Light needed a system that would reward core drinkers for being with us since the very beginning. Most importantly, this had to be a year long program that could plug into our sponsorships, retail, trade, local marketing, merch, and eventually on-premise. A place to remind them of our history and our shared values. A club that gives loyalists a sense of belonging and pride in the beer choice they’ve made over the years. It’s a love letter to them from America’s favorite light lager. Just like our brain, our program has two sides: emotional and transactional. This would create long-lasting deeper connections throughout the calendar year. And a tiered loyalty program that rewards Bud Light drinkers with exclusive benefits year-round according to their status.

Galvanizing our loyalists means giving them what they really need: fun and nostalgia. Why? And why now? During the pandemic, there’s a deficit of fun. Americans are unhappy. And because we hug the familiarity of what we know. We reside in an era saturated in nostalgia, rampant with reruns in service of our need for safe, constant pandemic entertainment. Bud Light has been delivering fun throughout the years in a way no other brand could.

For the Super Bowl, we tapped into our unique equity and our iconic assets to launch our Bud Light universe. Introducing: Bud Light Legends. We teased the full program by re-airing the iconic and beloved Bud Light commercials from years past. Next, our Super Bowl commercial brought together the most legendary and nostalgic characters from the past to spoof a genre that is beloved by our core Bud Light loyalists. Featuring I Love You Man, Yes I Am guy, Bud Knight, Cedric the Entertainer, Post Malone, our legends embarked on an epic cinematic journey to Save The Bud Lights. After reintroducing our own Bud Light Legends, we’re celebrating and rewarding the loyalists, our everyday legends all around us, all year long, with exclusive merch, experiences, discounts, rewards, and recognition. Because our loyalists are Bud light Legends, and there are Bud Light Legends everywhere.