There are few brands that conjure an image of Americana quite like Budweiser. Founded in 1876 in St. Louis, Missouri, the brand is steeped in heritage. However, for the last 27 years, Budweiser has seen a steady decline in sales in its largest market, the U.S. Microbreweries and the craft beer movement have successfully swayed consumers into thinking bigger isn’t better. Enter the season of Summer in the U.S., historically the biggest sales period for the beer category. Drinking occasions abound. Budweiser had a big opportunity to capture beer drinkers from the competition.

Ultimately, the AmeriCan packaging was about making an impossible-to-ignore statement about Budweiser and about America: Budweiser is America. America is Budweiser. What better way to commemorate the ‘most American Summer ever’ than to literally hold America in your hand? Replacing Budweiser’s brand name on the primary packaging with America was a bold statement. But the packaging doesn’t stop there. Throughout the can’s design, Budweiser changed its dress to signal an unwavering ode to the country. America is in your hands. This Bud’s For You. Beyond the packaging, the AmeriCan formed the foundation of Budweiser’s Summer 2016 campaign, “America is in your Hands.” It’s a subtle call-to-action that challenges our country to take accountability for the nation we want to become. The full 360 campaign leveraged the AmeriCan as a key visual and it was plastered on OOH, TV, in-store and on-premise activations from May through the end of October.

Our first objective was to spark conversation and make an unforgettable statement. With a packaging design in-hand, Budweiser ultimately succeeded in dominating the discussion when the can went public in early May. Following the packaging’s launch, Budweiser became the focus of 2,600+ unique stories in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Conan, The Today Show, and BroBible.com. All of that coverage totaled to 1.6 billion total earned impressions worldwide—more impressions than both of Budweiser’s Super Bowl 50 TV spots COMBINED. Overall, the packaging was a catalyst for some incredible statistics as it permeated pop culture: • 2.6K+ stories, 93% of which were positive sentiment. • 1.6K+ media placements within the first 24 hours, garnering 792MM+ impressions

The ask was to steal the conversation for the summer.

Rather than pursuing an idea that required traditional media channels (and dollars) to get eyes on it,we activated a powerful brand asset to drive conversation, that was already within arms reach of our consumer.

The resulting creative execution,our America Can, received 1.2 billion impressions – more than the last two Super Bowl ads combined and went on to garner millions of dollars in free media exposure.

Beyond that, the America can fundamentally altered the brands perception in the consumers mind, positioning it again as the iconic America

Summer 2016 was no ordinary Summer: the heated crescendo of a Presidential Election, human achievement re-defined at the Olympics in Rio, the U.S. National Soccer Team winning the hearts and minds of the nation at the Copa America Centennial. This was a time when American national identity was debated, re-evaluated, glorified and celebrated. There was a lot of noise to cut through. Budweiser needed a strong point of view. To make a bold statement. To regain relevance and reverse the sales slump. Our objectives were simple. Steal the Conversation and reverse the sales decline.

There are few brands that conjure an image of Americana quite like Budweiser. And Summer 2016 was the most American Summer ever: the build-up to a Presidential Election, human achievement re-defined at the Olympics in Rio, the U.S. National Soccer Team winning the hearts of the nation at the Copa America Centennial. It was a time when our national identity was debated, re-evaluated and celebrated. Ultimately, the America packaging was about making an impossible-to-ignore statement: to literally hold America in your hand.