Whatever Happens Integrated Campaign
Bud Light
Issue 31 | June 2014
Agency
Energy BBDO/BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officers David Lubars Greg Hahn Executive Creative Directors Mike Smith Ralph Watson Creative Directors Rick Williams Marcel Yunes Art Directors Marcel Yunes Rick Williams Copywriters Rick Williams Marcel Yunes Jessica Coulter Matt Sorrell Director of Integrated Production David Rolfe Executive Producers Dan Blaney/Diane McCann Agency Producer Mona Lisa Farrokhnia
Production Team
Production Company HeLo Digital Agency AKQA Director Jeff Tremaine
Other Credits
Account Team Jeff Adkins Kevin Bogusz Sean Brewster Emily Eisenberg Zane Chao Debbie Amsden Larry Gies Sean Girardin Shannon Smiley
Date
February 2014
Background
Bud Light was going through a bit of an identity crisis. The brand had been slowly falling out of cultural relevance, especially with young consumers aged 21 to 30. The goal was to put Bud Light back in the forefront of pop culture. A fresh start from the ground up was needed. A new voice and, more important, a new buzz-worthy campaign that activated young people, piqued their curiosity, and showed them, by example, what it means to be "up for whatever."
Idea
Bud Light was positioned as the perfect beer for whatever happened. To prove it, an experiential campaign was created designed to reward real people who were 'up for whatever'.
It started with mysterious teasers on TV, pre-roll, Vines and YouTube, seeding the hashtag #UpForWhatever, which became one of the fastest trending on Twitter. Then, on Super Bowl weekend, a YouTube film and TV campaign launched, which revealed the stunt: a massive hidden- camera prank that plucked a real guy from what he thought was a real New York City bar when he said "yes" to a night out with a complete stranger. Fifty-eight hidden cameras tracked the guy's real reactions as he was led through 17 locations. His journey was riddled with twists and turns: identical twins, false walls, random celebrities, bachelorettes, a llama, each experience more unexpected than the last. And all were filmed in one epic take.
Bud Light's YouTube page became a social gateway for online fans who were Up for Whatever too. As soon as they opted in, they became part of a pool of people who Bud Light instantly surprised with real-time Super Bowl house parties complete with cheerleaders, celebrities and rock stars. Mobile customers of the Uber taxi service were even surprised with epic rides to exclusive parties. Being Up for Whatever became more than a hashtag, it became a mantra.
Results
Bud Light became one of the most talked- about brands in the world again. The "Up for Whatever" films were viewed over 34 million times. The campaign generated over 2,380 news stories, from GQ to ABC News, Good Morning America, Ryan Seacrest, Rush Limbaugh, and the cover of AdWeek; it penetrated pop culture with over a half billion media impressions.
Our Thoughts
I don’t want anyone at BBDO to think I’m being mealy-mouthed when I say this idea isn’t new. It’s not. Heineken have been challenging guys to drop everything and commit themselves to the moment; and a Belgian telco threw a surprise party for their millionth customer that was similar. But what the Mighty Lubars and his people do when they have an idea is make sure they execute it with as much passion and pzazz as possible. The scale of this prank is monumental – and that is precisely what makes it so very watchable. We are all in on the joke – except the dude at the centre of the action.
Wonderful little touches (actually, not so little) like having Arnold Schwarzenegger as our guy’s table-tennis opponent.
If you’re going to try to engage through entertainment, this is how to do it. Big.