The ask was clear: launch the new Budweiser Reserve Copper Lager in a way that was representative of one of the biggest collaborations in American alcohol history. This beer was the coming together of two American icons: Budweiser and Jim Beam. Both brands survived Prohibition and are deeply woven into American drinking culture. This brief for this campaign was to introduce this important collaboration in a bold way to drive sales and spread awareness.

We wanted to create a world that was as bold as our new beer. So our creative idea for this campaign was to take one of the most popular phrases in beer culture, “hold my beer,” and flip it on its head. This line pays homage to a cultural phenomenon in America and is widely used when describing a situation where someone is about to do something amazing. Our twist was to feature a character that was so confident that they wouldn’t need someone else to hold their beer while they worked their way through bar games, dominating everyone in their path. This person would be enough of a badass that he or she would keep the beer and do it all with one hand. The only thing we needed now was a hero that could pull this off.

We couldn’t launch a product this important by just plugging any celebrity into a commercial. We needed to find someone who is not only a cultural icon but also able to connect with different ages and genders. We spent three months searching for the right person that could bring the attitude to our film that this bolder beer represented. Our search brought us to the perfect partner: global superstar and certified badass Charlize Theron. Our talent partnership strategy was to be true to her character every step of the way. We wrote a script that was tailored for the characters she is famous for. Taking inspiration from her roles in Mad Max and Atomic Blonde we created a world where she was able to unleash the confidence she is famous for. We worked closely with Charlize every step of the way, including script development, director bidding and music selection.

Our film “The New Bud in Town” was launched on social media in the week leading up to the highly anticipated 91st annual Academy Awards. We tied our launch to this moment for two reasons. First, this beer represented a more premium line extension for the brand. Tapping into the Oscars gave us the best moment of the year to reach this new audience for the brand. Second, we knew the star of our film would be taking the stage during the ceremony. This gave us the unique opportunity to tie into all of the conversation surrounding her on Hollywood’s biggest night. The film aired on television during the live broadcast right before one of the biggest awards of the night was presented.

Launching at the Academy Awards allowed us to tap into a massive cultural conversation and make Budweiser a part of the news. Our film gained 26MM+ views online, 30MM on television during the broadcast and significant media attention with 177 stories globally that lead to 426MM+ PR impressions. By partnering with a celebrity so well known and well-liked, we were able to reach both Budweiser loyalists and engage new fans of the brand, driving 28k+ mentions on social around the film. Most importantly, this campaign lead to a significant lift in brand health and we saw the beer became a top 10 share gainer in the category. And thanks to Charlize and the success of the film, sales of Copper Lager were so strong that Budweiser will be bringing this limited-edition brew back in the fall of 2019.