“We’re confident that everyone will be able to see themselves, their friends, or their neighbors in the ‘BMOC’ spot,” Allen said in an email. “BMOCs are neighborhood heroes that exist in cul-de-sacs everywhere and we’re excited to have our campaign rally BMOCs around the country for this year’s Super Bowl.”
Describing the brief, Allen said the brand was looking for a concept that would “put our fans first,” while delivering classic Bud Light humor, making use of its celebrity talent, and centering the spot around its “Easy to Enjoy” platform.
“Every concept we reviewed had to check these four boxes to ensure our campaign felt authentic to Bud Light and would excite and resonate with our audience,” Allen said. “We’re extremely excited to build on Bud Light’s 35 years of iconic Super Bowl moments with this year’s work. I truly believe this is our funniest spot in years.”
As many as it takes
Similar to the “Bud Light Genie” in last year’s Super Bowl ad, Gillis and Malone together represent the brand’s promise of easy access to good times. When they’re called on by a neighbor to liven up a lame yard party, their smashing arrival is accompanied by Huey Lewis’ “Power of Love,” the time-traveling theme of “Back to the Future” which lends the ad the air of a 30-year rewind. Their cooler, roughly the size of a subway car, holds “as many Bud Lights as it takes,” Gillis tells Manning.
A conservative-leaning comic who projects a regular-guy appeal, Gillis is proving an inspired choice as a Bud Light pitchman. He joined the brand for its college football campaign last fall, demonstrating a feel for Bud Light humor in co-written ads like “The Dean’s Office” and “Wrong Commercial,” each produced by his Range Media Partners agency.
Gillis, too, has survived an episode of cancel culture, when he was fired from the “Saturday Night Live” cast in 2019 for having made racist and homophobic jokes on a podcast (he has since gone on to host “SNL”).