This Bud's for Jackie Robinson: How a Legendary Brand Alignment Campaign Is Made

For any brand let alone one as ingrained in American culture as Budweiser working with a cultural icon like Robinson requires a deft touch honor and respect according to executives from Budweiser and its advertising agency Dentsu Aegis Networkamp160 quotWhen we sayamp16039This Bud39s for you39 we are raising a beer to celebrate people who share our values and the values behind the true American spiritquotamp160said Ricardo Marques Budweiser39s Group Vice President for Marketing Core and Value Brandsamp160 quotAs an example of courage resilience and altruism Jackie Robinson represents what we believe inquotquotWith its longstanding relationship with the Jackie Robinson Foundation and as the official beer of MLB to allow them to celebrate an icon of the sportamp160as well as lean on their historic associationamp160made absolutely perfect sensequot added Duncan Smith Dentsu Aegis39s Global President of Client Servicesamp160 Dentsu Aegis Network39s Vizeum and Isobar Brazil handled the campaign39s creative and the media buying and planningThe centerpiece of Budweiser39s comprehensive quotProject 42quot campaign is a threeminute short film titledamp160Impact directed by Academy Award winneramp160Spike Lee and narrated by Robinson39s daughter Sharon Robinsonamp160 The film which debuted on opening day March 28 juxtaposes archival baseball footage with reenactments of fans gathered in a Brooklyn bar listening to Robinson39s debut and a diverse group of immigrants being sworn in as American citizensamp160 quotMore than a campaign this was a tribute to an American hero and all he stood forquot Marques notedSmith and team were justifiably proud of their part in honoring Robinson39s contributions to baseball and American cultureamp160 But getting the Impact spot right was a tall order he acknowledgedamp160 To make the film as authentic as possible Smith saidamp160Lee researched the smallest details fromamp160the weather in Brooklyn that historic day to select costumes and featured the original radio broadcast in the spotamp160 The individuals in the swearingin ceremony represent real people who have broken through boundaries in their own fields and communities and look to Jackie as an inspirationThe final result quotrepresents exactly what Jackie Robinson achieved breaking through color boundariesamp160and the integration of people from many walks of lifeamp160and ethnicitiesamp160into American societyquot Smith notedAlong with the Impact film the campaign has rolled out a second shorter spot titledamp160Riseamp160that shows the making of a baseball interspersed with images of Robinsonamp160 On Jackie Robinson Day the two spots will be shown on big screens in MLB ballparksamp160and both will be cut into shorter versions for TV digital media and social media including 60second and 30second on down to 6second and 15second spotsBy creating multiple versions of the videos Smith said the team hopes to attract more organic exposure such as sharing on social media that can extend the messaging beyond paid mediaamp160 quotOne of the huge focuses at the moment is generating as much earned media as possible both overheard shared and viral contentquot heamp160explainedamp160 The campaign39s official social media handle is ThisBudsforJackieTo further support the Jackie Robinson Foundation Budweiser plans to donate 42 cents to the foundation for every can of commemorative quot42quot beer soldamp160 The proceeds quotwill help the Jackie Robinson Foundation in realizing an old dream to open the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York later this yearquot Marques saidThroughout advertising39s history brands have looked to align themselves with popular celebrities and cultural icons and marketers will surely continue to look for these opportunitiesamp160 But when doing so Smith says he urges brands to proceed with caution and make sure their brand values are in sync with the individualamp160 Otherwise he cautioned you could end up with a campaign that feels inauthenticamp160 quotYou have to share some absolutely fundamental beliefs to make it work and deliver that degree of integration and impactquot he saidamp160 quotIf there is any degree of forcing you shouldn39t do itquotWith the quotProject 42quot campaign Smith saidamp160the players found a winning combinationamp160 quotIn Budweiser you have a brand that is truly iconic within the US and has always stood with celebrating the extraordinary and the true spirit of what America was founded uponquot he notedamp160 quotWith Jackie Robinson he39s an absolute example of what39s possible no matter your upbringing or origin if you persevereamp160and continue to stay true to your beliefsquotBringing the brands together he addedamp160quotWas a perfectly natural fitquotamp160Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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This Bud's for Jackie Robinson: How a Legendary Brand Alignment Campaign Is Made

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Alli Romano

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This Bud's for Jackie Robinson: How a Legendary Brand Alignment Campaign Is Made

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