Bud Light was seeing some tough numbers and decided they needed a strong campaign and promotion to heat up summer sales. I landed on a concept that built on the evergreen “Easy to Drink” platform. I wanted to show beer fans that having an incredible, memorable summer is as easy as flipping a switch—delivering on that brand promise. In this case, the switch was the unmistakable visual hook: the tab on an ice-cold Bud Light. And just like that, the concept was born. No matter the summer plans, they only get better when you Flip the Switch and make things easily better—with a Bud Light.
One component of the program was the promotion with Live Nation, offering consumers the chance to win the Ultimate Access Pass for life! This reward was sure to generate buzz around Bud Light, as our target audience absolutely loves this type of experience. POS materials would be used across all channels, with an emphasis on grocery stock-up to support summer plans.
Bud Light was set to take over retail with awesome display enhancers and tons of cross-merchandising efforts. Shoppers would be captured by Bud Light and the chance to WIN a lifetime pass to Live Nation events.
We pitched to AB, and they loved the work! Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after the pitch, a PR situation escalated to the point where Kid Rock thought it was necessary to shoot up cases of Bud Light with an assault rifle. Almost instantly, the program was hit with a splash of cold water and was canceled. And that’s how Kid Rock ruined my big creative win in April of 2023.
