Bud Light is celebrating the start of the college football season with its latest campaign starring actor and comedian Shane Gillis, who signed a deal with the brand early this year.
The campaign opens with "The Dean's Office," the first of a series of ads written and directed by Gillis and fellow comedian John McKeever that will roll out over the course of the season.
According to Bud Light Senior VP of Marketing Todd Allen, the initiative aims to make gameday moments special for college football fans, who are among the most passionate and dedicated fanbases.
He also highlighted Gillis's love for college football and distinct sense of humor, which makes him the perfect partner for the brand's new effort.
"I like football and beer, especially Bud Light. It was fun to work with McKeever and Steve on this," Gillis said in a statement.
Additionally, Bud Light is releasing its largest collection of limited-edition college team branded cans to stoke the flames of school spirit.
Featuring 26 teams from across the U.S., the cans will come with a QR code that lets fans participate in the "Easy to Gameday" sweepstakes.
Lucky winners will receive a free trip to an away game.
The campaign will begin airing on Saturday, August 31 during college football games across NBC, ABC, ESPN, as well as on social media through Bud Light's and Shane Gillis's channels.
Bud Light's latest campaign follows the humorous brand voice that it has already established with funny campaigns in the past.
Cultivating this unique brand personality and voice helps it resonate with its core values and, by extension, its audience.
All For a Bud Light
The spot opens in a university dean's office, where Dean Brooks accuses Bobby the football player of plagiarizing his master's thesis.
Standing close behind the dean's desk are a professor and Gillis's Coach Herb.
Threatening to bar the player from participating in the football season, Brooks offers Bobby a deal: confess, and he can play for half the season.
He then sweetens the deal by offering Bobby a bucket of ice-cold Bud Light beers for telling the truth.
When your buddy walks up with a bucket right after you told yourself you were waiting until kickoff
— Bud Light (@budlight) August 28, 2024
Watch the full video here: https://t.co/KT4de9YWwWpic.twitter.com/VIeRAbifNm
Suddenly, Coach Herb offers to "grease the wheels" and takes a bottle. Without missing a beat, he confesses to practicing his half-time speeches in the shower before the games. Hilariously, he then asks Professor Wilkins to confess something.
After the professor declines, the coach immediately reveals the professor's embarrassing secret: that he began taking karate lessons after being headlocked by a girl. A third professor joins in, as Brooks and Bobby watch in bewilderment.
As Bobby finally decides to confess, the Dean caves in and takes the irresistible last bottle of Bud Light after admitting to being afraid of horses.
The spot ends with Bobby walking out the door in disbelief as the four schoolteachers enjoy their beers.
Bud Light previously launched a campaign in May starring UFC fighter Dustin Poirier and country singer Zach Bryan.
