We Finally Learn the Fate of the Bud Knight, Who Was Seemingly Slain in Super Bowl Combat

The crossover ad, in which HBO’s Game of Thrones invaded and immolated Bud Light’s medieval “Dilly Dilly” kingdom, was a triumph of bait-and-switch creativity and a fascinating collaboration between two of today’s top agencies: Wieden + Kennedy (whose New York office handles Bud Light) and Droga5 (HBO’s creative agency).

The Bud Knight definitely bore the brunt of the violence, and the ad—named by Adweek as the best of this year’s Super Bowl—memorably ended with his lifeless body lying amid the smoldering ruins of a jousting tournament gone horribly awry.

Now the brand is back with a follow-up ad, which will run during this week’s NCAA Final Four matchups.

Before we learn the Bud Knight’s fate, let’s revisit the Super Bowl spot that left him broken and baked in his beer-can armor:

So without further ado, here’s Bud Light’s big reveal of the Bud Knight’s fate:

It’s not exactly one of the most fulfilling comebacks in marketing history, but you have to give the brand some credit for not waiting until everyone had forgotten about the Bud Knight and then trying to make us suddenly care again. Also, it squeezes the update in while fans have Game of Thrones’ upcoming (and final) season premiere on the mind.

Personally, I’m just glad he didn’t wake up and start yelling about corn syrup.

If you want to learn more about the story behind the HBO vs. Bud Light ad from this year’s Super Bowl, check out our video about how the ad came about:

CREDITS:
Client: Bud Light
Client Contact: Andy Goeler

Agency: W+K New York
Executive Creative Director: Karl Lieberman
Creative Directors: Brandon Henderson, John Parker
Copywriter: Jessica Ghersi
Art Director: Kevin Kaminishi
Head of Integrated Production: Nick Setounski
Executive Producer: Temma Shoaf
Producer: Alexey Novikov
Strategist: Brian Ritter
Social Strategist: Sophie Novick
Group Account Director: Brandon Pracht
Management Supervisor: Alex Scaros
Account Supervisor: Marlee Caine
Account Supervisor: Lauren Wilson
Account Executive: Greg Hascoe
Project Manager: Bruce Fields
Head of Business Affairs: Patrick O’Donoghue
Sr. Business Manager: Justine Lowe

Production Company: O Positive
Director: Jim Jenkins
Director of Photography: Trent Opaloch
Executive Producer: Marc Grill

Editorial Company: Arcade Edit
Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Producer: Andrew Cravotta
Editor: Dave Anderson
Assistant Editor: Joe Petruccio
Social Content Editor: Jeff Lopus

VFX Company: The Mill
Creative Director: Nathan Kane
Shoot Supervisor: James Mulholland
2-D Lead Artist Kshitij Khanna
3-D Lead Artist: James Mulholland
2-D Artist: Dhruv Shankar
2-D Artist: Taner Besen
2-D Artist: Urosh Otashevich
2-D Artist: Christopher Riemann
2-D Artist: Nick Tanner
2-D Artist: Kieran Hanrahan
3-D Artist: Alek Vacura
3-D Artist: Scott Denton
3-D Artist: Todd Akita
3-D Artist: John Wilson
3-D Artist: Jackie Liao
3-D Artist: Pablo Estrella You
3-D Artist: Seon Crawford
3-D Artist: Alex Allain
3-D Artist: Serguei Kalentchouk
3-D Artist: Sam Crees
3-D Artist: Tighe Rzankowski
3-D Artist: Shawn Lipwoski
3-D Artist: Ryan Feldman
3-D Artist: Dave Barosin
Tracking Supervisor: Senthil Murugan Balasundaram
Tracking Artist: Sendil Kumar J Manoj Ravi
Tracking Artist: Amritha Raajendher
Tracking Artist: Bharat Ediga
Tracking Artist: Fazal Khan
Tracking Artist: Upasana Choudhary
Tracking Artist: Raj Kumar
Executive Producer: Andrew Sommerville
Senior Producer: Clairellen Wallin
Senior Producer: Luis Martin
Producer: Michael Brown
Producer: Payal Thakkar
Production Coordinator: Christina Chung
Production Coordinator: Umesh Chand

TELECINE
Telecine Company Company 3
Colorist Tim Masick
Color Producer Kevin Breheny

MIX
Mix Company Sound Lounge
Mixer Tom Jucarone
Co-Sound Engineer Rob DiFondi
Producer Becca Falborn
MUSIC
Music Company Walker Music
Executive Producer

Continue Reading