Last year’s splashiest new beer launch was Bud Light Platinum. Anheuser-Busch InBev blanketed the airwaves with ads for its beverage, which comes in a sleek, dark-blue bottle and has 2 percent more alcohol than its mother brand. Almost immediately, the new brew became the subject of ironic fascination in the blogosphere. “Tastes weird, more filling, sells like crazy,” Amos Barshad wrote on BuzzFeed in a piece entitled, “The Triumph of Bud Light Platinum, Millennium Party Fuel.”
Timberlake in a Bud Light commercial
AB InBev tried to capitalize on the brand’s popularity by hiring the multifaceted entertainer Justin Timberlake as the brand’s “creative director.” “Bud Light Platinum brings a refined, discerning aesthetic to beer that plays well with what I’m doing,” Timberlake mused in a statement. “I’m looking forward to not only being a part of the creative process, but in bringing other talented musicians to the forefront as well.”
