• by Erik Oster , February 6, 2024

Anheuser-Busch’s light beer brands are going heavy on celeb star power for the Super Bowl.

Bud Light unveiled its full “An Easy Night Out” Super Bowl ad today, featuring the introduction of a new character called “Bud Light Genie,” along with NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, singer and rapper Post Malone, and Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White.The brand had previously announced that Malone would be returning for his third Big Game appearance for Bud Light, and White’s appearance follows AB InBev entering into a multiyear partnership to make Bud Light the official beer of the UFC in the U.S.

In “Easy Night Out,” a group of friends unleash a genie from a bottle of Bud Light. The Bud Light Genie, naturally, grants wishes (without any apparent limit on the number granted), which helps transform their night out into something more adventurous.

The spot is the latest iteration of Bud Light’s “Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy” brand platform, which included the “Easy To Sunday” campaign kicking off the NFL season.  It will be part of a larger takeover by the brand, which will include Malone’s performance of “America The Beautiful” before Super Bowl kickoff.

Beyond the ad, an “Easy Wishes” promotional sweepstakes leading up to Feb. 11 will gives fans a chance to have their “easy wishes” granted, with prizes including  a trip to Las Vegas and beer money.  The promotion marks the beginning of a larger “Easy Wishes” activation, with Bud Light promising to award “epic experiences and prizes all year round,” across the brand’s “passion points,” including tickets to March college basketball, NFL, and UFC events.

The brand will also host a Bud Light Backyard Tour event at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on February 9, headlined by countZach Brry yan and featuring a performance by soul singer/songwriter Leon Bridges.

Bud Light’s Big Game reveal follows news of a similarly star-studded ad for Michelob Ultra, featuring international soccer star Lionel Messi. 

Entitled “Superior Beach,” Michelob Ultra’s ad includes not just Messi, but also NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino and actor Jason Sudeikis (whose sports cred is as the soccer coach on hit show "Ted Lasso”), as well as a scene-stealing canine. Shot on a South Florida beach by veteran commercial director Adam Berg, the ad centers around an impromptu game of beach soccer resulting from Messi’s wait for a pour of Michelob Ultra while the tap is changed over.

Messi’s Super Bowl debut a follows ABInBev’s announcement of a partnership with Messi and becoming the official global beer sponsor of the Copa América USA 2024 tournament taking place this summer.

Bud Light and Michelob Ultra’s strategy of generating social media buzz and teasers prior to revealing their full ads, which seems to have paid off. According to social media analytics company Sprout Social, Bud Light generated more social media engagement than any other Super Bowl advertiser during the month of January, while seeing an 87% positive sentiment rate in its 3,399 mentions. Michelob, meanwhile, had the most mentions at 3,428,, and 28,224 engagements for Lionel Messi’s first Super Bowl commercial.