A-B knows how to create buzz; its winning streak with Super Bowl ads and the way its campaigns enter the vernacular are proof. But the mega-brewer sees an opportunity online and has hired the JibJab team, brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, to create “web entertainment” — ie viral advertising — for flagship brand Budweiser. The first spot is here and features an animated version of A-B frog mascots Louie and Frankie.
This is a little tricky, both for “the brewery,” as it’s known in hometown St. Louis, and the creative team. A-B could see some backlash from JibJab’s popular political work but that risk is mitigated by the brothers’ glee in being equally ruthless to all. The brothers run the risk that fans will be offended by marketing work and have to remind people that marketing has long been their bread and butter. They’ve posted a pledge on the JibJab blog that promises transparency and never to take a job “unless we think we can make you laugh.”
Bob Lachky, A-B vice president, brand management told USA Today the cost is limited to the creative: “If you already have your Web site up and running, the media is free. … When you look at the (viral) numbers, it will become mass on a very personal level.”
Why JibJab? Lachky told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the brewery was bowled over by the animated “This Land Is Your Land.” “This was some of the most clever, funny communication we had seen in a long time. … And the fact that it was Web-based was more intriguing to us, because we have a pretty sizable Internet presence.”
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