The brief was to show ambition.

And ambition is usually about a personal journey.

An athlete. Or an innovator. You’ve seen it before.

So instead of showing a personal journey, we made the journey personal.

The biggest journey. The mission to Mars.

Because Mars was one of 2017’s dominant cultural discussions.

Everyone was talking about how to get there.

We, instead, talked about what to bring along for the ride.

And beyond talking about it, we took action.

We partnered with retired astronauts and CASIS, which runs a division of the International Space Station (ISS).

And loaded the key ingredient for beer onto an ISS-bound Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket.

We conducted experiments in orbit to get one step closer to microgravity beer.

And committed to years of research involving Bud R&D and CASIS.

To ensure we don’t leave our culture behind when we eventually go to Mars.

Our official journey to Mars began with a panel discussion at SXSW. Here Budweiser announced its grand commitment alongside CASIS and former astronaut Clay Anderson.

We invited media and beer-lover-consumers to learn about the journey to Mars, and how

Budweiser will be a part of it.

But the program didn’t stop there. Budweiser’s innovation team also worked closely with CASIS to determine a series of experiments needed to one day reach our goal of creating microgravity beer, as there’s little oxygen on the Red Planet.

Eight months later, key Budweiser ingredients were loaded onto a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station, as the first official experiment.

The programming inspired coverage across various media verticals, from food to tech to business news, even stimulating top space industry experts to write feature stories about our mission in outlets like TIME and Smithsonian Magazines.

The Bud on Mars campaign generated massive global media attention and social conversation:

• 2,336 earned media placements

• 1.6 billion media impressions

• 521 million social impressions

Key placements include:

• “Mission to space in the name of better beer” – CNN

• “When humans reach Mars, Budweiser wants to make sure there will be beer” – The Washington Post

• “You can send a man to the moon, but man is going to need beer to go to Mars” – Huffington Post

• “How good will life on Mars be if you can’t enjoy a cold beer?” – TIME

• “Budweiser is teaming up with expert scientists to develop beer on Mars” – Mashable

• “Budweiser Is Brewing a Micro-Gravity Beer We Can Drink on Mars” – Men’s Health

In addition, the campaign delivered impactful business results.

• Budweiser experienced its biggest lift in brand health in 20 years.

• Consideration is up 2.1% and brand penetration is up 1.7% – and that’s a lot when you sell 4.4 billion beers per year.

And the program is only getting started. This November, the next Budweiser experiment will be launched into orbit, continuing the brand’s long-term commitment to microgravity beer.

Budweiser holds a special place in American culture.

A place that has to be reclaimed for every new generation.

And you can’t reclaim a place in culture without being part of it.

So we tapped into the biggest cultural discussion of the year: The mission to Mars

But instead of talking about how to get there, we talked about what to bring with us.

At SXSW, astronaut Clay Anderson shared his insight about the need to bring a piece of home.

Eight months later Budweiser loaded the key ingredient for beer onto a rocket bound for the International Space Station.

The insight was simple: It’s not where you’re at, it’s where you’re from.

Budweiser shares the belief of many space travel experts that life in space needs to be filled with the same enjoyments available here on earth (including beer)!

In other words: space colonialization will not happen until people can bring a piece of home along for the journey.

We joined with CASIS—a pivotal player in the journey to outer space—and made our announcement at SXSW, a festival that celebrates innovation.

Our strategy, to take the first real steps toward microgravity beer, was designed to appeal to both current Bud fans and new millennial drinkers.

And we earned attention from media and influencers by actually conducting our experiment in space. Target media: lifestyle, food, trade, business, technology.

Since its inception in 1876, Budweiser has been rooted in hard work and powered by ambition.

Adolphus Busch, the brand’s co-founder, went to America to defeat the odds and start what is often referred to as the King of Beers. Budweiser’s history is a story of commitment, passion and never giving up.

But this brand story of ambition has to be proven and earned for every new generation.

The Brief: Explore the brand ideal of ambition.