Bud Light Tackles Another Hot-Button Issue: Transgender Rights
Latest Spot With Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer Says, 'Beer Should Have Labels, Not People'
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Bud Light's socially progressive "Bud Light Party" campaign is tackling another hot-button issue: transgender rights. "Gender identity -- it's really a spectrum and we don't need these labels," Amy Schumer says in a new spot debuting today. Her campaign co-star Seth Rogen adds: "Beer should have labels, not people."
The ad follows recent Bud Light spots that have supported gay marriage and equal pay for women. "In our newest spot, Seth and Amy remind Americans that labels belong on beer, not people�"a message Bud Light proudly supports," Alex Lambrecht, VP of Bud Light, said in a statement.
The campaign has drawn support from gay rights group GLAAD.
"When a brand like Bud Light shows support for the transgender community, it makes a difference," Nick Adams, GLAAD's director of transgender media, said in a statement. "Not only does it help bring more visibility to the trans community, it also inspires other companies to do more to show their support. This ad also includes out trans actor Ian Harvie, which puts a face on the trans community and gives a trans person the opportunity to appear in a high-profile spot like this one."
Alcohol brands have long lent support to the gay community, which is a key constituency for liquor and beer marketers. But expressing solidarity with transgender people is relatively new terrain -- even though Bud Light's spot is not unprecedented in the alcohol category.
Earlier this year Absolut vodka debuted an ad with a transgender storyline about how Dave became Darla.
Outside of the alcohol category, Nike has been running an ad during the Olympics featuring Chris Mosier, the first openly transgender athlete to compete on a U.S. men's national team.
Bud Light's politically themed campaign, which is by Wieden & Kennedy, New York, has taken a more whimsical approach. Spots featuring the two comedians Ms. Schumer and Mr. Rogen have used the mock political party "Bud Light Party" in an attempt to portray the brand as a beer for everyone.
While the campaign has garnered headlines, the ads have failed to produce sustained positive sales momentum. Bud Light sales fell by "low-single digits" in the second quarter as the brand continued to lose market share, according toAnheuser-Busch InBev's recent earnings report.
This story originally appeared on Adage.com.
Credits
- Date
- Aug 15, 2016
- Brand :
- Bud Light
- Client :
- Bud Light
- Agency :
- Wieden & Kennedy - New York
- Client Contact :
- Alex Lambrecht
- Executive Creative Director :
- Karl Lieberman
- Executive Creative Director :
- Colleen DeCourcy
- Creative Director :
- Stuart Jennings
- Creative Director :
- Gary Van Dzura
- Copywriter :
- Howard Finkelstein
- Art Director :
- Grant Mason
- Project Manager :
- Sunjoo Ryou
- Project Manager :
- Lauren Amato
- Project Manager :
- Cory Chonko
- Head of Content Production :
- Nick Setounski
- Producer :
- Alison Hill
- Producer Assistant :
- Lisa Delonay
- Producer Assistant :
- Alexey Novikov
- Strategist :
- Nick Docherty
- Account Team :
- Brandon Pracht
- Account Team :
- Price Manford
- Account Team :
- Kyle Glackin
- Business Affairs :
- Sara Jagielski
- Business Affairs :
- Justine Lowe
- Business Affairs :
- Carolina Hernandez
- Associate Media Director :
- Justin Lam
- Production Company :
- Caviar
- Director :
- Neal Brennan
- Director :
- Evan Goldberg
- Executive Producer :
- Michael Sagol
- Executive Producer :
- Jasper Thomlinson
- Producer :
- BP Cooper
- Director, Photography :
- Jeff Cronenweth
- Director, Additional Photography :
- Ben Zlotucha
- Director, Additional Photography :
- Matt Egan
- Editorial Company :
- ARCADE
- Editor :
- Geoff Hounsell
- Post Producer :
- Alexandra Leal
- Post Producer :
- Anna Butler
- Post Producer :
- Cristina Matracia
- Post Executive Producer :
- Sila Soyer
- Editorial Assistant :
- Matt Ferran
- Editorial Assistant :
- Jon Dean
- Visual Effects Company :
- The Mill
- Executive Producer :
- Chris Kiser
- Production Coordinator :
- Devan Saber
- 2D Lead Artist :
- Ilia Mokhtareizadeh
- 3D Lead Artist :
- Ed Shires
- 2D Artist :
- Michael Smith
- 2D Artist :
- Jamie Scott
- 2D Artist :
- Kshitij Khanna
- 2D Artist :
- Burtis Scott
- 2D Artist :
- John McIntosh
- 2D Artist :
- Kevin Quinlan
- 2D Artist :
- Jimmy Bullard
- 3D Artist :
- Wyatt Savarese
- 3D Artist :
- Sean Dooley
- 3D Artist :
- Paolo Cogliati
- Matte Painting :
- Carlos Nieto
- Motion Graphics :
- Mikhael Villegas
- FCC :
- Michael Rossiter
- Telecine Company :
- Company 3
- Colorist :
- Tom Poole
- Mix Company :
- Sonic Union
- Mix and Sound Design :
- Steve Rosen
- Music Company :
- Massive Music
- Song :
- Victory Lap
- Senior Producer :
- Kiki McDaniel
- Creative Director :
- Ben Einziger
- Executive Producer :
- Scott Cymbala
- Executive Producer :
- Keith Haluska
- Creative Director :
- Diederik van Middelkoop
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