Bud Light is not the finest beer in the world but it has an awesome marketing juggernaut and they go all out for Super Bowl Sunday – the most watched (and most expensive) ads of the year. The theme for the 2015 offering was “Up for Whatever.” Basically, an unsuspecting punter is offered a free Bud Light if he accepts whatever comes next. He takes the beer, follows the directions to a door and then rolls an enormous coin into a slot to open them.
Inside is a massive party – crowds cheering, dance music blaring, beers being waved in the air by attractive 20-somethings. But there is also something you do not see every day – a full scale human Pac Man game. Our lucky punter has to run/dance through the maze avoiding the familiar four ghosts (Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde). All this happens to a dance re-mix of the original Pac Man theme by a group of DJs that younger readers may have heard of it. Overall, it is pretty darn cool.
There has been on-line debate about whether it is better than Bud Light’s 2014 “Up for Whatever” Super Bowl ad. Here is how the Hollywood Reporter summarised last year’s effort:
“The hidden camera-style commercial opens with a normal looking guy in a bar being approached by a beautiful girl — drinking a Bud Light, of course — who sets the stage for adventure from the outset by asking: “If I give you this [beer] are you up for whatever happens next?”
Suddenly the voiceover reveals, “Three seconds ago we gave Ian Rappaport a choice, Ian is not an actor — he has no idea what is going to happen next.”
With a behind-the-scenes film crew following their antics, our shell-shocked hero is soon flying around New York City in a Hummer limo filled with bachelorettes while rapping with Reggie Watts, before getting a surprise introduction to Minka Kelly. The former Friday Night Lights star gives him a Hollywood makeover before the party really gets weird.
Entering a swanky elevator is Don Cheadle, leading a llama called Lily on a leash, as a girl identical to Ian’s date gets on at the next floor. “Twins?” he marvels. “This is a bizarre night.”
Proving that good things do come in pairs, the next party is all twins — much to Ian’s delight — and more madness ensues when he goes head-to-head with Arnold Schwarzenegger in ping pong.
“Prepare to be crushed in tiny tennis,” taunts the Terminator star, who looks more like a ’70s Wimbledon champ with a long wig and headband, as he makes Ian drop to the floor for push-ups. “That’s not a bad shot for my little princess!” leers Schwarzenegger.”
Head of Content Neil Miller says he has to go with the 2014 edition, mainly for Arnie in a headband and the “tiny tennis” line.
Source: 2015 Pac Man ad – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9A1NowrnGI, 2014 Tiny Tennis ad – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnOW5qj_R6A
