10
Loading video...
By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Bud Light's "Big Men on Cul-de-Sac" Super Bowl commercial, featuring comedian Shane Gillis and singer Post Malone, has received a mix of praise and criticism since it aired on Sunday.
Newsweek has contacted Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Bud Light, for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Bud Light was likely hoping for a positive reaction to the commercial in the coveted and costly Super Bowl spot.
Read More on U.S.
The brand experienced a major sales decline following a 2023 conservative boycott after it sent transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney a beer can featuring her face to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her transition. Mulvaney promoted the beer can on her Instagram channel.
...
What To Know
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, denying the Chiefs what would have been an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
Beyond the game and halftime show—this year performed by rapper Kendrick Lamar—Super Bowl commercials remain a highly anticipated event.
This year, Bud Light appeared to target a suburban male demographic with its ad featuring Gillis and Malone. The spot shows the pair livening up a "lame" party by crashing through a picket fence on lawn mowers—which later double as a barbecue—and using a leaf blower to fire Bud Light cans and invite neighbors over.
Two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning also makes an appearance, announcing that the cul-de-sac party is now "popping."
Reactions to the ad were mixed among media outlets ranking the night's commercials.
Bleacher Report named the ad the third best of the night, behind Stella Artois' spot featuring former soccer star David Beckham and Totino's Pizza Rolls' ad starring I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson actors Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson.
Bud Light's commercial was among nine that Yahoo Sports awarded an A grade.
However, Adweek ranked the ad among the five worst of the night. Brand editor Rebecca Stewart wrote that the campaign shows Bud Light "playing it safe again."
The New York Times ranked it 51st out of 64 Super Bowl ads.
On social media, many viewers supported the commercial, praising it as funny and a strong attempt by Bud Light to win back consumers following the boycott.
One user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote that casting Gillis and Malone was probably "the smartest ad choice Bud Light could have ever made."
Katerina Gasset posted that the ad shows Bud Light has "learned its lesson."
"Their Super Bowl ad this year moves from failed wokeness to working-class men with beards. Love the commercial," she added.
Bud Light's commercial was the sixth-most-watched ad on Sunday on YouTube globally, according to Variety.
What People Are Saying
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes said: "You're going to get people's attention when you cold open on Shane Gillis, wearing jorts and seated in a lawn chair, legitimately cracking up Post Malone (also sporting jorts) by explaining he can't go fishing because he has a colonoscopy tomorrow. This is a beer commercial, by the way. Additional gems include leaf blowers that fire beer cans, reckless picket fence destruction, and Gillis explaining, 'I spent most of my money on this' as he showcases a smoker that also cuts grass. I've always wanted to live in a cul-de-sac."
Adweek's brand editor Rebecca Stewart said: "Bud Light has been playing it safe since 2023, when it ignited a firestorm after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The result was a massive boycott that cost owner AB InBev $1.4 billion in sales. The casting and plotline of its Super Bowl 59 campaign show Bud Light playing it safe again."
The New York Times' Mike Hale said: "The comedian Shane Gillis and the rapper Post Malone star in a deadpan ode to suburban backyard partying, with cultural undertones and overtones that defy simple analysis. Peyton Manning drops by to lend folksy gravitas."
Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee and Ian Casselberry said: "Shane Gillis, Peyton Manning, and Post Malone firing beer cans all over a suburban cul-de-sac? What's not to love? This captures the essential dudeness of suburban dad life, with the typical we-know-it's-a-commercial meta winks of a Super Bowl ad."
What Happens Next
Anheuser-Busch InBev is expected to release its first-quarter results for 2025 in May.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines