Dive Brief:
- Budweiser honored retired New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter with a video called "This Bud's for 2," according to Adweek. The title references Jeter's number, which was retired by the Yankees on Sunday.
- Budweiser is promoting the effort, created by agency VaynerMedia, via its social media channels as well as a paid digital campaign.
- The spot features people around New York City "retiring" number 2s in various ways. It strongly echoes Jordan Brand's "Re2pect" ad from 2014, which featured a number of celebrities and New Yorkers honoring Jeter with his signature hat tip.
Dive Insight:
Budweiser is a Major League Baseball sponsor, so honoring Jeter's number retirement was a natural opportunity to attach the brand name to a historic team event. The entire effort being digital- and social-first is interesting, freeing up more creative leeway than a TV ad, which would normally be limited to just 15- or 30-seconds. "This Bud's for 2" itself is almost two minutes long. Lower costs on digital give Budweiser an opportunity to reach a passionate but niche audience it might be too expensive to message on TV.
Budweiser putting paid digital media behind the spot is another indicator that digital video is quickly encroaching on advertising territory once dominated by linear TV. By strongly emphasizing the campaign's social component, Budweiser is likely hoping that fans will share their video to commemorate Jeter's number retirement — something they might've been doing already.
The effort comes with a #ThisBudsfor2 hashtag, and a pinned tweet on the brand's official Twitter page already has 14,000 retweets and nearly 20,000 favorites at the time of publication.
