After a year of backlash, Bud Light returns to the Super Bowl

It’s been anything but a light year for America’s second-best selling beer.

In what seems to be an attempt at a comeback, Anheuser-Busch will be running a 60-second Bud Light commercial in this year’s Super Bowl. The brand faced conservative backlash in 2023 for its campaign with transgender creator Dylan Mulvaney, which contributed to sinking sales. In addition to losing its place as America’s No. 1-selling beer to Modelo, the brand also lost its first female VP of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, as a result of extended boycotts.

A teaser for this year’s ad, which shows a man in a Peyton Manning Broncos jersey recognizing a mustachioed man in sunglasses to the tune of Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride,” indicates a return to the more male-focused image that Heinerscheid once said she was trying to shed. (Her comments added fuel to the flames as boycotters were...smashing beer cans on the ground and firing a gun at cases of Bud Light.)

The overall look of the ad is vastly different from last year’s more subtle “Hold” commercial with Miles and Keleigh Teller, which was created under Heinerscheid’s leadership as part of a “new era” for the brand, and had been well-received. In that minute-long ad, the Tellers pass the time dancing to music from a customer service line with Bud Lights in hand.

Kyle Norrington, chief commercial officer at Anheuser-Busch, told the Wall Street Journal that this year’s ad will “dial up the humor and introduce a new brand character.” It will continue to push its “Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy” tagline that appeared in last year’s Super Bowl ad. Anomaly, which also worked on last year’s ad, is the agency behind the scenes.

In addition to Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch will be running a 60-second ad for Michelob Ultra with Lionel Messi, as well as a 30-second ad for Budweiser, during this year’s game.