5 Shocking Ways Bud Light’s New Commercials Are Trying To Win Back America In 2025

The landscape of American beer marketing has been completely redrawn, and as of December 15, 2025, Bud Light is executing its most aggressive, high-stakes advertising pivot in decades. Following a devastating public relations crisis that saw the brand lose its 20-year reign as America’s top-selling beer, parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has doubled down on a strategy focused on "classic brand humor," sports, and A-list celebrity endorsements.

This is not the Bud Light of two years ago. The new commercials for 2025 are a clear, calculated attempt to reconnect with its core customers—the sports fans and comedy lovers—while simultaneously trying to move past the lingering effects of the 2023 controversy. The brand's survival hinges on whether these new, humor-first campaigns can finally outweigh the long-term impact on sales and consumer trust.

The Star-Powered Strategy: Bud Light’s 2025 Celebrity Endorsement Lineup

The most visible and expensive element of Bud Light’s 2025 comeback is its reliance on massive, universally appealing celebrity talent. This is a direct play to overshadow past controversies and re-establish the brand's identity as a fun, approachable beer centered around major cultural events like football.

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Peyton Manning: The Return to the NFL Core

Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning has become a central figure in the brand's new marketing strategy, particularly for the 2025 NFL season.

• The "Parachute" Commercial: Manning stars in a key 2025 TV spot titled “Parachute,” which aims to kick off the NFL season with the kind of classic, fan-centric humor the brand was once known for.
• Fan Passion Focus: This campaign is designed to double down on the authentic passion of football fans, aligning Bud Light with the game's tradition and humor.
• Limited-Edition Cans: The campaign is also supported by the debut of 2025 limited-edition NFL team cans, directly targeting the local pride of Core Customers.

Shane Gillis and Post Malone: The Comedy and Music Pivot

Comedian Shane Gillis and musician Post Malone have been brought in to anchor the brand's comedy and music-focused advertising, a key part of the strategy mentioned by Bud Light Vice President Todd Allen to return to humor.

• The "Vendor Voices" College Football Ad: Gillis, returning for his second season with the brand, stars in the “Vendor Voices” commercial, which shows a hilarious scenario of fans going to great lengths to get a cold Bud Light from a stadium vendor. The spot emphasizes the shared, humorous experience of game day.
• Super Bowl LIX (2025) Triumph: The trio of Manning, Gillis, and Malone all appeared in the brand's highly anticipated Super Bowl LIX ad, "Driveway." This multi-celebrity approach for the biggest advertising night of the year was a clear statement of the brand's aggressive push for a Bud Light comeback strategy.

The Long Shadow of Controversy: Sales and Market Impact

Despite the massive marketing spend and star power, the shadow of the 2023 controversy—stemming from a brief partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney—remains a dominant force in the beer industry trends.

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The Loss of the Crown

The most significant long-term impact is the loss of market dominance. In May 2023, Bud Light lost its spot as the top-selling beer in the United States—a position it had held for two decades—to competitor Modelo Especial. This shift has fundamentally altered the American beer market.

The Enduring Sales Decline

The boycott caused a massive financial hit, with sales dropping by about 25% overall in the months following the initial backlash. Even into 2025, the brand is still battling the effects, with Bud Light sales recovery proving to be a slow and arduous process. The brand's attempts to bridge the consumer divide by embracing music and live events are aimed at mending the fractured base.

The Bud Light Comeback Strategy: A Return to Tradition

The core of the Anheuser-Busch marketing plan, overseen by Chief Commercial Officer Kyle Norrington, is a deliberate and complete return to traditional marketing pillars that focus on American pastimes, blue-collar humor, and local sports pride.

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1. Doubling Down on Sports Sponsorships

Beyond the NFL and college football, Bud Light has cemented its position in other major sports leagues. In May 2025, the brand announced its move to become the Official Beer of the CFL (Canadian Football League), a strategic move that aligns with connecting with traditional sports fans. This aggressive sponsorship strategy is a clear signal to consumers about the brand's intended identity.

2. The Humor-First Mandate

The new commercials, such as "Vendor Voices" and "Parachute," are a concerted effort to bring back the classic Bud Light humor that defined the brand for decades. This is a safe, middle-ground approach designed to generate laughs and positive buzz without wading into the cultural debates that ignited the original controversy. The focus is purely on the experience of drinking beer with friends.

3. Hyper-Local and Regional Marketing

The brand is also investing heavily in hyper-local marketing, such as rolling out its biggest collection of college team packaging yet for the 2024 season, representing 26 teams. This local pride strategy is designed to rebuild trust at the grassroots level, one region at a time, moving away from broad, national campaigns that could be perceived as controversial.

The Bud Light story in 2025 is a textbook case of a brand attempting a massive cultural and commercial reset. With competitors like Coors Light and Michelob Ultra capitalizing on the shifting market, the success of the new, star-studded, humor-driven commercials will determine if Bud Light can reclaim its title or if its era of dominance is permanently over. The coming months, particularly the post-Super Bowl period, will be the true test of this multi-million dollar post-controversy advertising pivot.