Exclusive: Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Name New Creative AORs

Bud Light has selected Anomaly as its new creative agency of record for its main Bud Light brand and The Martin Agency for its various line extensions, such as Bud Light Seltzer and Bud Light Next. The decision comes following a review process the brand kicked off in late spring. Five agencies initially vied for the brand's business, including WPP's Calvary and independent agency Gut, which were cut midway through the process. The Martin Agency and Johannes Leonardo competed in the final round of the Bud Light review, while the Bud Light Seltzer review came down to just Martin and Anomaly, multiple sources familiar with the review told Adweek. "These award-winning agencies specialize in transforming brands and throughout the process demonstrated clear, impactful creative visions that will help attract new 21+ drinkers into the Bud Light family," Alissa Heinerscheid, vp of marketing, Bud Light, and Steve Wolf, vp of marketing, Bud Light Extensions, said in a joint statement to Adweek. Wieden+Kennedy, the previous creative partner for the brand, declined the brand's invite to participate in the pitch. "Anomaly has a shared ambition with Anheuser-Busch—to win. We are 100% committed to that, both strategically and creatively, on the biggest icon in beer—Bud Light," Mike Byrne, founding partner and global CCO, Anomaly, told Adweek. Bud Light briefed the agencies this morning on the results of the pitch. “There’s been a lot written lately about the pros and cons of pitching," said Jerry Hoak, ecd and managing director, The Martin Agency. "This pitch for one of America’s most iconic brands goes squarely into the pro column. The team at AB treated us like true partners, invested themselves in our mutual success, and respected their agencies by making a quick decision. We are thrilled to add Bud Light Extensions to our already flowing Busch Light party and wish Anomaly a decade’s worth of great work.” Unlike other recent significant reviews, which sources criticized for dragging on for months, another person close to Bud Light's review confirmed Hoak's view of the process, calling it "extremely well run" and "very efficient and fair." Bud Light chose to not use a pitch consultant to run this review. Another source involved in the review said Bud Light was extremely collaborative, provided good feedback and matched their passion for the brand. "This is the best example of partnership in a pitch process we’ve seen," the source told Adweek. Bud Light spent $52 million on traditional and offline media in the U.S. last year, while Bud Light Seltzer’s spending reached $91 million, according to COMvergence. Previous experience with Anheuser-Busch Anomaly has an extensive history with Bud Light brewer Anheuser-Busch, working with Budweiser on a global scale and in the U.S. on seven consecutive Super Bowls, including "Lost Dog," the third installment of the puppy-horse Super Bowl trilogy of spots. Currently, Anomaly heavily supports the beer goliath's efforts in Canada, with work on Budweiser, Bud Light, Corona, Labatt, Stella Global, Mill Street and Michelob Ultra. This is Anomaly's biggest win since scoring the Dunkin account in 2021. "This one feels special. In our business the word 'icon' gets tossed around a lot, but make no mistake, Bud Light is exactly that," Franke Rodriguez, partner and CEO, Anomaly New York, told Adweek. "The No. 1 best-selling beer brand in the US with a rich, 40-year history and a focus to drive the business forward—more ambition, more meaning and more breakthrough creativity. A dream assignment for us that we are absolutely chomping at the bit to get going on." The Martin Agency, which has won Adweek's U.S. Agency of the Year award the past two years, has been on Anheuser-Busch's roster of shops, most notably creating Busch Light's regional Super Bowl spot featuring saxophone icon Kenny G. Johannes Leonardo was the only finalist to not have any existing work on an Anheuser-Busch brand. It declined to comment on the results of the review. While Wieden+Kennedy is stepping away from the Bud Light brand, it still has a sizeable chunk of Anheuser-Busch's business. The indie agency will continue to work on the Anheuser-Busch corporate brand, Budweiser's global business, Corona, Michelob Ultra and Nutrl vodka seltzer. Earlier this summer, Anheuser-Busch relinquished rights to be the exclusive alcohol advertiser in the Super Bowl. The company told Adweek at the time that it still plans to advertise in the game, but will spread out its investments with Fox, CBS and NBC—the three networks that host the game—to reach consumers more throughout the course of the year. Under pressure Although Bud Light remains one of the nation’s best-selling beer brands, the category is under pressure as Americans turn to spirits, hard seltzer and canned cocktails—or avoid alcohol completely. To keep pace with changes in consumer demand, Bud Light has, in recent years, debuted Bud Light Seltzer, Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda and Bud Light Next, the company’s first zero-carb beer. Each new line extension has appeared in a Super Bowl spot created by Wieden+Kennedy. Last month, parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev reported its total global volumes experienced 3.4% organic growth during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the world’s largest brewer underperformed in North America, where its volumes dropped 2.7%. To Defend or Not to Defend—That Is the Question for Incumbent Agencies

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Bud Light Picks Anomaly, Bud Light Seltzer Selects The Martin Agency as Creative Agencies of Record

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Jameson Fleming

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