Football fans are ready for some football as the new season tees up. Guess who else is ready? Bud Light. The beermaker has a commercial aimed at beer-drinking football-watching customers.

The commercial is called “Easy to Sunday” and it is about the start of the NFL season.

As far as ads go, it’s not bad. It doesn’t grab me like Anheuser-Busch commercials are known to do, or used to do, but it’s not bad. Give me a Clydesdale any day.

Anheuser-Busch has lost a boatload (that’s a technical term) of money due to its bone-headed decision to appeal to the wokest of the woke and bend a knee to transgender activists on social media. The company found out quickly that it missed the mark, misread the room, and showed how clueless its marketing department is when it comes to knowing Bud Light consumers. There has been a massively successful boycott of the beer. The company reported a 10.5% decline in U.S. sales in its second quarter, from April – June 2023.

The newest marketing campaign is its biggest NFL campaign ever. It launched on Thursday. The kicker is that not all NFL teams have opted into the promotion with Bud Light.

The “Easy to Sunday” promotion includes new TV and online advertisements set to run during the season, and limited-edition Bud Light cans for 23 NFL teams with team colors, logos and a player illustration. (Note: Not all teams opted into the can deal with Bud Light.)

Cans are hitting stores now. Each can has a QR code that can be scanned for a chance to win one of 2,000 free subscriptions to NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV and e-gift cards for NFL merchandise from Fanatics.

The new commercial features “real fans and their Sunday tradition,” the company said in a news release. Those include a Philadelphia Eagles fan who is also a military veteran “who never missed a game when she was deployed, no matter the time of night.”

According to the press release, it’s all about showing “real fans” in its commercials.

Throughout this NFL Season, Bud Light is showing just how “Easy to Sunday” it is with a brand new commercial, set to run in :60, :30, and :15 second formats, that feature real fans and their Sunday traditions, including:

– A New York Giants fan who has been a season ticket member for 63 years and is known for his gameday mussels, the best in New Jersey.
– A Tennessee Titans fan and farmer who never misses listening to a game on the radio in his fully decked out tractor, complete with his favorite Titans’ bobbleheads on the dash.
– A military veteran and die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan who never missed a game when she was deployed, no matter the time of night.
– The first-ever woman nominated for an Emmy Award, whose passion for directing and the New England Patriots is nearly matched.
The spot is set to a cover of the iconic song “Sunday Kind of Love,” recorded by husband-and-wife country duo, The War and Treaty.

Making it easier for 21+ fans to rep their favorite team on Sunday and throughout the 2023 season, Bud Light’s fan-favorite, limited-edition NFL team packaging is back for another year. With a new look across 23 NFL teams, this year’s team cans prominently feature each team’s logo and includes a player illustration in each team’s official colors. The new cans also include a QR code fans can scan for information on how to win a NFL Sunday Ticket subscription from YouTube and YouTube TV, and fan merch through Bud Light’s official merch partner, Fanatics. Bud Light’s NFL team cans are available now everywhere Bud Light is sold.

It’s bound to be awkward this year because of the boycott and publicity the company has been receiving. Bud Light has been the NFL’s official beer sponsor for more than 27 years. It is no longer America’s best-selling beer and hundreds of employees have lost their jobs due to the decline in sales, through no fault of their own.

Will the Bud Light drinkers boycotting the beer come back? The company says signs are hopeful. CEO Michel Doukeris said on an investor call this month that about 80% of the more than 170,000 consumers surveyed since April gave a “favorable or neutral” rating for Bud Light. Feedback consists of three points.

“One, they want to enjoy their beer without a debate,” he said. “Two, they want Bud Light to focus on beer. Three, they want Bud Light to concentrate on the platforms that all consumers love, such as (the) NFL.”

Has Bud Light learned the hard lessons that include the fact that people don’t want politics with their beer? Just sell beer, Bud Light. Forget trying to force progressive political ideology on everyday people who are just looking to drink a beer at the end of a long day and relax. It’s as simple as that. And, a real apology would go a long way, too, if it isn’t too late.