Bud Light gets back in the saddle.
Plus a Zillow alert from Barbie, an ad for a hammer that's gonna make you buy a hammer, and lots more.
Here we go…again.
Today's newsletter was sponsored by Forekast, the world’s best marketing calendar.
Bud Light just unveiled a new campaign dubbed “Easy to Summer”, marking its foremost marketing endeavor since a partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney resulted in a conservative outcry.
As part of the beer brand's most ambitious media spend to date (you read that right, I bolded it for you so you know it’s important), the campaign will also encompass the Bud Light Backyard Tour. This national summer concert series boasts a lineup featuring country musicians like Tyler Braden and Kane Brown. Furthermore, the campaign offers weekly $10,000 giveaways to consumers, discounts on beer during the Independence Day weekend, and a series of ads featuring NFL stars like Travis Kelce and Dak Prescott set to premiere later in the season.
The "Easy to Summer" campaign serves as a new chapter after Bud Light endured a challenging spring season. Conservatives initiated a boycott when Mulvaney posted an image of a personalized Bud Light can she received. Anheuser-Busch CEO, Brendan Whitworth, attempted damage control by stating the company "never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people," a message that failed to soothe conservatives and ended up upsetting supporters and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Subsequently, sales nosedived throughout May.
In order to salvage the situation, Bud Light implemented various strategies such as distributing free beer to its distributors and temporarily suspending two key executives, including Alissa Heinerscheid, its Marketing VP.
Heinerscheid, the first woman to hold this position, had previously committed to modernizing the brand. We’ll keep you posted as the spots keep coming. Until then, let’s talk Barbie.
Zillow alert.
Your dream house just became available, and it’s pretty in pink.
Barbie has kind of been everywhere lately, trending side by side with Oppenheimer yesterday. This tweet sums up what that looked like.
The above partnership with Architectural Design was a big hit. Margot Robbie takes you through the Barbie Dreamhouse and shows you everything that went into the effort to get it made.
Lay the hammer down.
There’s just something about this print ad from Stanley. It makes me want to buy a hammer. And I already own a hammer. Am I crazy or is this awesome?
Reminds me of that old advertising saying, don’t sell the drill, sell the hole it makes (I may have butchered that). But in this case, Stanley’s fully sold me the drill. Err hammer, rather.
Nice touch.
The product is the marketing here - we love this from Paynter Jacket Co.
Subtle surprise and delight moments like this customer care label make consumers come back again and again - and on top of that, they encourage discussion. Guaranteed people who own this shirt show that label to their pals a lot more than I share my Fruit of the Loom label with my friends. And that fruit bowl logo is pretty sick.
Also, free product placement for my beloved Coco Pops.
Tingly Ted meets Singy Ed.
Why is Ed Sheeran having lunch with a grumpy 6-foot-tall teddy bear at a diner? Because he created him, and the hot sauce he’s promoting. Ed’s a big Ketchup fan as you may recall from a previous edition of The Ad Spot, and he’s also a hot sauce fan - so he combined two of his passions (hot sauce and ketchup - not singing and ketchup) and created Tingly Ted’s.
Let us know if you’ve tried it in the comments. Always up for a new hot sauce.
Back to beer.
Last but not least, we’ve got a spot from Michelob Ultra to share with ya. ULTRA trash-talking actually requires no talking at all. Just take it from Nneka and Jimmy…