Budweiser Zero was a new product that most people didn't know existed. We needed to increase brand awareness while combatting the one stereotype it already had: the uncool stereotype of zero alcohol beers. So we looked to capitalize on some 2020 trends. People were drinking at home and shopping from home more than ever, with alcohol sales up a staggering 55% and online shopping 31% higher than years before. The stage was set for unprecedented levels of drunk holiday shopping dangers—particularly as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two biggest online shopping days of the year, drew closer. And Budweiser Zero's non-alcoholic nature made it the ideal solution.

Budweiser Zero is a zero alcohol, zero regret beer. We wanted to save people from buying things they would regret—particularly in a year that saw with alcohol sales up 55% and people drinking at home more than ever. So we created "Don’t Drink and Buy": a PSA-style campaign highlighting the dangers of making purchases under the influence. We launched on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year, and asked social media users to share their past drunk buys as a cautionary tale to others. So while other brands tempted people to click without thinking, we reminded them to not drink and buy.

Every year, Americans spend $40 billion on drunk purchases, making it behavior many people are familiar with. Our target audience was anyone who could relate to the concept of making a drunk purchase, whether directly or indirectly (such as stories from friends or reading online conversations). We sought to capture a 21-35 year old audience who was sober curious, more health-oriented and had made goals focused on trying to drink less alcohol. Through this audience and on a broader scale, there was an opportunity for Budweiser Zero as a new brand to establish its main product attribute, non-alcohol, in a fun, lighthearted way while building awareness. Our call to action was a satirical PSA that was intended to be playful and get people to share their own regrettable purchases—making their first time engaging with Budweiser Zero a real (and memorable) interaction.

In a satirical, PSA-style campaign called "Don't Drink And Buy," Budweiser Zero set out to save people from making regrettable drunk purchases. We launched on Cyber Monday with a tongue-in-cheek video that featured some truly embarrassing buys—showing up in the social and digital spaces where these purchases often happen, like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Then we encouraged people to share their own past, inebriated purchases using #ShopResponsibly for the chance to win a $10,000 shopping spree (this time, sober). We even recruited NBA legend, Dwyane Wade, to post his own regrettable purchase. Not only did this build brand buzz, it also established a witty tone for Budweiser Zero, a product who's zero alcohol attributes are seen as inherently "less cool."

1000% increase in social mentions of Budweiser Zero.

Highest social mentions of any previous brand post.

42% sales increase in the week following the “Don’t Drink & Buy” campaign.

2.2 million video views.