“Dilly Dilly.” A throw-away iteration in an unassuming Bud Light commercial became the earworm America couldn’t stop repeating. And surprisingly, no group found the frilly, nonsensical phrase more enticing than rough-and-tumble sports fans. Yes. DILLY DILLY penetrated all sorts of unlikely platforms; even getting a mention in a prime time NFL game audible.

But that’s American football.

The elegant, quiet-clap domain of the golf world did not necessarily agree with the overzealous use of our catchphrase.

The very organization which bans branding, sponsorships and the airing of commercials - the Masters Golf Tournament - preemptively released a defacto gag order. A list of banned words. Words, that if uttered would oust its ticket holder from the pristine greens.

And wouldn’t you know it: “Dilly Dilly” was literally on the top of that list.

Bud Light is for the many; a light lager that bases its branding on simplicity, egalitarianism and access. What the Masters did, in releasing a list of banned words that named “Dilly Dilly” as enemy No.1, only emboldened our stance.

An austere, closed-off golf tournament that also suppresses speech? Now, that smacks of the elitist tyranny Bud Light was created to oppose.

We had our inspiration. Bud Light would take inspiration from far more important movements before us: We would use silent protest to show our indignation.If tournament-goers couldn’t say “Dilly Dilly,” they could sure as hell wear it.

With the eyes of the sports world focused on the 2018 Masters tournament, Bud Light saw an opening to insert itself into the national conversation in a way that was authentic to the brand’s sense of humor and also provided a natural contrast to the perceived stuffiness of Augusta National Golf Club. This required a nimble, timely response on social media that was playful but also included a consumer call-to-action. After setting the tone with a tweet, and circulating it with media, Bud Light created 1000 “Masters green” Dilly Dilly t-shirts, which were delivered to Georgia just in time for the festivities. The brand sent the items to national golf media and influencers, before notifying local media of the in-market plan in Augusta, where Bud Light distributed them to patrons who were gathering in bars before entering the Masters.

Within hours of the Banned Words leak on twitter, we retaliated with a medieval-style “scroll” from our King, John Barley IV. Declaring the ban unjust, King Barley promised delivery of 1,000 Dilly Dilly polos and hats for Tournament-goers to wear - in the iconic Masters Green colorway.

As we crafted the scroll, our design team simultaneously mocked up the polo design, to give to our manufacturers. Within days, we had, as promised, delivered 1,500 pieces of branded swag to every bar surrounding the Augusta greens.

And to our delight, not only did ticket holders wear the Dilly Dilly gear, but an ESPN announcer donned our polo.

This gave Bud Light unprecedented brand recognition during brand-prohibited Masters Tournament coverage. Our quick-turnaround stunt garnered 335.6 million total impressions.

In the end, “Dilly Dilly” dominated the Masters conversation, without uttering a single sound.

Patrick Reed may have won the tournament, but Bud Light won the weekend. We made a big brand splash at an event that brands are not invited to, with just 1,000 polo shirts and 500 hats. We only had six hours to activate and within that time we had 335.6 million impressions, that’s a 68% earned media rate (for only 0.0046% of brand budget).