As part of its continued assault on microbrew-swilling beer snobs, Budweiser headed to Brooklyn during Restaurant Week and orchestrated a little stunt to get people to actually drink Bud—and even rave about it.
Vayner Media planned the whole thing, inviting some hip young adults to a sneak peek at a new bar, weeks before its opening. There, they were invited to sample a smooth, crisp, golden lager, aged over beechwood, whose recipe hasn't changed for 139 years.
See how things went here:
New Yorkers are really getting punked lately—first the fake gun store, and now this, which some might feel is just as egregious. There are certainly some focus-group-like social dynamics at play here—i.e., if you hide your brand name, put it in a different context and tell people it's special, they'll parrot that sentiment back to you.
Still, setting it in Brooklyn gives it a nice cultural punch. And many of the reactions seem genuine—perhaps not surprisingly, as Bud isn't actually a bad beer (though perhaps I'm biased, having lived in St. Louis for five years).
Try this with Bud Light, though, and you'd get pelted with free-range eggs.
CREDITS
Client: Budweiser
Agency: Vayner Media
