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Bud Light spent a lot of money trying to repair their image after finding themselves at the center of controversy.
Last year, the once popular beer brand was being boycotted after sponsoring trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
The controversy ended up costing Anheuser-Busch over a billion dollars in lost sales, according to analysts.
Bud Light has now pivoted to spending a lot of ad money on sports leagues in hopes of repairing their image.
This past year, we’ve seen Travis Kelce and Peyton Manning promote the beer in TV spots and on social media.
On Friday, Sportico reported that Bud Light spent nearly $80 million on NFL ads this past season, more than any beer brand by far.
Via Sportico
All told, Bud Light accounted for 30% of the $258.9 million in beer money the NFL’s broadcast partners guzzled down during the season, with the next biggest spender in the category, Constellation Brands’ Modelo Especial, trailing with $47.2 million in buys. Meanwhile, the combined in-game spend for the rest of the league’s top five brewery backers (Corona Extra, Miller Lite, Coors Lite) came in more than $5 million short of Bud Light’s season-long investment.
The brand has also tapped the UFC as a sponsor by signing them to a $100 million deal.
Anheuser-Busch believes its marketing push is beginning to make a difference in helping restore its image with those who are angry with them.
“I think we are making progress,” said AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris. “It’s not at the fast pace that we were expecting or that we’ve been working for, but nevertheless, progress is in place