Bud Light ditches fake chick for Shane Gillis

Bud Light has taken off its beer goggles.

The massive brand has learned a few lessons from its costly Dylan Mulvaney experiment. Among them: Fake chicks don't sell beer.

In a bid to transition from the ensuing boycott, Bud Light has hired comic Shane Gillis to star in a commercial that hearkens back to the kind of campaign that helped make it a household name.

Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch had this to say about the partnership with Gillis:

Bud Light and football just go together. From the tailgate to the celebratory cheers in the stands to the round for friends at the bar, Bud Light is showing up for 21+ fans on gameday. Now, to rally college football fans across the country, Bud Light is introducing a new campaign in partnership with actor and comedian Shane Gillis, who stars and co-writes alongside longtime comedy partner John McKeever, who also directed the new content rolling out throughout the college football season.

'Bud Light came all the way back – UFC, Shane Gillis. Let's go!'

Titled "The Dean’s Office," the spot depicts a star football player called before college authorities to answer accusations of plagiarism. The dean offers him a bucket of Bud Light if he makes a confession.

No sooner is he about to oblige then his football coach (Gillis) butts in to confess his own embarrassing secret — and claim his reward.

Soon, everyone including the dean is making confessions — anything for a precious Bud Light.

The new beer ad was co-written by Gillis and longtime comedy partner John McKeever. The commercial also stars Steve Gerben — who co-stars with Gillis on the "Tires" sitcom.

"I like football and beer, especially Bud Light. It was fun to work with McKeever and Steve on this," Gillis said of the advertisement.

The commercial began airing August 31 during college football games on NBC, ABC, and ESPN.

Following the Dylan Mulvaney debacle, Bud Light dropped from the top-selling beer to the third, while parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev lost roughly $1.4 billion in sales since the transgender activist controversy.

Alissa Heinerscheid, marketing VP behind the ill-fated Mulvaney campaign, has said she chose the bizarre spokesman as a way to correct the brand's "fratty ... out-of-touch humor."

"And we had this hangover. I mean, Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach," Heinerscheid declared before being replaced.

Despite many celebrities dumping Bud Light over the Dylan Mulvaney boycott, Gillis continued to drink the controversial beer brand.

"Bud Light came all the way back — UFC, Shane Gillis. Let's go! I mean, that's a good move," Joe Rogan noted on his podcast. "Listen, I'm so happy. It just made so much sense. You never let them go. You never bailed on them," Rogan told Gillis. "In the heart of all the craziness, you never bailed on them. Kid Rock is shooting cases of it."

Rogan pitched the idea of Gillis being the new spokesperson for Bud Light during an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" in May 2023.

In March, Bud Light became the official beer sponsor of UFC.

The red-hot stand-up comedian has been on a massive winning streak after he was fired from "Saturday Night Live" in 2019. Gillis was fired from "SNL" just four days after being hired after it was reported that he made remarks deemed to be racist during an episode of his "Matt & Shane's Secret Podcast."

The talented comedian self-funded his first comedy special — “Shane Gillis: Live in Austin” — that has garnered more than 31 million views on YouTube. His comedy special “Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs” was a top-10 Netflix show in 2023. The Gillis-led scripted comedy series "Tires" debuted as Netflix's second-most watched show in May and has already been renewed for a second season.

Gillis stars in the online "Gilly and Keeves" comedy skit show. "Matt & Shane's Secret Podcast" is the most popular podcast on Patreon. Despite being terminated by "SNL," Gillis hosted "Saturday Night Live" in February. And he just capped off a successful stand-up tour — sponsored by Bud Light.

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