The new NFL campaign, called ‘Bud Light Thursday Night Shoutout’, captures personal stories about how the featured black businesses began and seeks to bring together local communities while simultaneously promoting black-owned restaurants.
The ad series, part of Bud Light’s ‘Thursday Night Shoutout’ NFL partnership, tells black-owned business stories through the perspectives of each restaurant owner’s individual journey alongside their specific menu offerings.
Over the course of the NFL Thursday Night Football season, Bud Light will showcase black-owned restaurants in select host cities through dedicated ads across national broadcast television and on Bud Light’s digital and social channels.
The activation also sees Bud Light partner with food app directory EatOkra to encourage viewers to seek and support Black-owned restaurants in their own communities.
The series started during the 17 September Cleveland Browns’ home season opener by highlighting Cleveland’s own ‘Beckham’s B & M Bar B Que’ – a family owned southern restaurant.
The campaign. Which was created by Wieden + Kennedy New York and Hound, with Director Jason Harper.
“Making films about members of the Black community during these historic times gives me pride and a profound sense of responsibility,” commented Director Harper. “I’m encouraged that Bud Light decided to use their national visibility to spotlight these stories that humble us as storytellers.”
Anthony Edwards, EatOkra Co-Founder added: “We were thrilled when Bud Light approached us to be included in this Thursday Night Football series that highlights Black-owned businesses and shares their stories in such an impactful way. Along with Bud Light, we hope this series motivates fans to seek and support more Black-owned restaurants when looking for game day bites.”
The campaign was developed for a Bud Light marketing team which included US Chief Marketing Officer Marcel Pereira Marcondes, VP Marketing Andy Goeler, Brand Director Joe Lennon, Senior Director Lauren Rodriguez, Brand Manager Jessica Lee, Director Of Marketing Communications Michael Goon, Media Lead Lindsay Marzocca, Digital Director Conor Mason, Digital Brand Manager Lindsay Cozen and Sports Marketing Director Joe Barnes by W+K New York.
The agency team included Executive Creative Director Karl Lieberman, Creative Director Gerard Caputo, Copywriter Jessica Ghersi, Art Director Kevin Kaminishi, Copywriter Katie Johnston, Art Director Lena Barrows, Head Of Integrated Production Nick Setounski, Executive Producer Jessica Griffeth, Senior Producer Dave Lambert, Account Director Ryan Johnson, Management Supervisor Lauren Wilson, Account Executive Carla Caban, Global Strategy Director Stéphane Missier, Senior Strategist Matt Hisamoto, Digital Strategist Connor Corr, Communications Planning Director Zack Green, Project Manager Bruce Fields, Director Of Business Affairs Patrick O’Donoghue, Business Affairs Manager Daniella Vargas, Business Affairs Coordinator Maureen Doyle, Traffic Supervisor Sonia Bisono and Traffic Coordinator Tina Wyatt.
The production company was Hound with Director Jason Harper, Executive Producers Jamie Miller and Joby Barnhardt, plus Line Producer Jon Dino, with editing handled by Cosmo Street, VFX by Switch and music and sound by Human.
Outcome:
Since the first ad in the series debuted on 16 September, it has notched up 750K views on Bud Light’s YouTube channel.
Comment:
Yes, it follows on from its drinking water and hurricane relief work, but to us this really seems unlike any sports and sponsorship ads we’ve seen from Bud Light before. These beautifully shot commercials tell highly motivational black-owned business stories.
This community cause initiative runs in parallel with the beer brand’s other NFL new season activations which includes its innovative ‘Showtime Cam’ on-pitch end zone celebration fan/player live link (see case study).
Links:
Bud Light
https://www.budlight.com/showtimecam
https://www.instagram.com/budlight/
https://www.facebook.com/BudLight
Wieden+Kennedy NY
https://www.wk.com/about/office/new-york/
NFL
http://www.nflshop.com/source/bm-nflc…
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