To Anheuser-Busch…“dilly, dilly!”
Once upon a time, there lived a Bud Knight — I’m sure we’re all familiar with this one.
Advertisements that tell the best stories are the ones that get the most recognition, and oh, did Bud Light know how to tell a story? Anheuser-Busch created the Bud Knight in 2018 as a mascot for their brand, Bud Light, who quickly won many Americans' hearts.
The Bud Knight was introduced in a Super Bowl commercial and has appeared in quite a few advertisements since. He was a knight in a medieval village full of Bud Light lovers that chant, “dilly, dilly.” Bud Light loved the attention they received after the release of their first “dilly, dilly” commercial in 2017. Everyone was saying, “dilly, dilly.” They made a brilliant move and decided to create a storyline for the beloved village. This is where the Bud Knight joins the tale.
The Bud Knight was a knight on a horse who seemed to care more about getting his hands on some Bud Light than fighting any battles. His priorities seemed to align with much of America.
Bud Light knew their audience in the time of HBO’s Game of Thrones’ peak popularity and created just the right storyline to get the world watching. Budweiser partnered with Game of Thrones and used a few of their characters to reach a whole new fanbase for their commercials. They decided to match up the Bud Knight and The Mountain, a knight from GOT, in a public joust.
The two raced toward each other with courage and strength, but unfortunately, the Bud Knight was knocked off his horse. However, the fight didn’t end there. As he laid on the ground, the Bud Knight was then brutally crushed by The Mountain in an appropriate Game of Thrones manner. Drogon, a dragon from the series, then flew over the village burning it all to the ground.
It sounds cruel but Bud Light was going for the classic Game of Thrones storyline and knew just what they had to do—kill the Bud Knight. Game of Thrones is famous for unpredictable deaths even if it means killing off some fan favorites.
The world loved this storyline so much that Miller Brewing Company even revived an almost identical character that resembled the Bud Knight in an advertisement of their own. For Bud Light to create a mascot that is so beloved that a competing company would use it in their own commercial shows the brilliance in their work. They took advantage of the drinking tendencies around the Super Bowl and the excitement of the upcoming final season of Game of Thrones to create a masterpiece of a storyline.
