In mid-July 2019, the internet collectively decided it was time to storm Area 51 and unleash the secrets of the universe. As a brand closely tied to internet culture, we wanted our team to get involved in the shenanigans. And while some celebrities and other brands joined the conversation, we asked our team to take it to the next level.

The beer for everybody became the beer for every being.

When the internet collectively decided it was time to storm Area 51 and unleash the secrets of the universe, people, celebrities and brands all jumped in on the meme-making. Bud Light took it to the next level by Tweeting an offer: free beer for any alien who makes it out during the raid.

And from that one tweet came limited-edition packaging made in record time, a fridge that opens only for aliens and a nationwide launch of alien merch.

The results. Out of this world.

Our Bud Light social listening and public relations teams are actively searching trending topics for real-time responses in order to drive positive public relations. So when Area 51 became a trending topic, we knew Bud Light would want to be involved and we pivoted quickly to start making it a real thing to gain even more press and media attention.

This entire idea was driven by real-time creativity. In September of 2019, the internet went wild over a "Storm Area 51" event to free the aliens. The topic trended for days and became the most anticipated event and blow-out party of the summer. Bud Light, initially posted on Twitter, “We’d like to be the first brand to formally announce that we will not be sponsoring the Area 51.” However, our fans inspired us, and we then said, “Screw it. Free Bud Light to any alien that makes it out.” The internet went wild for it.

Right away we knew we should spark even more conversation by creating some limited-edition packaging. Within 24 hours, we had our design shared with the world and a few weeks later, the actual limited-edition pack was available on shelves and online, as well as matching alien merchandise.

Out of this world.

190k social mentions

22M digital impressions

617 news stories

$1,000,000 in alien beer sales and merch