During the second quarter of the Super Bowl, HBO and Bud Light delivered a quintessential Game of Thrones-twist ending to the latest entry in Bud Light’s series of “Dilly Dilly” commercials.
What starts as a classic Bud Light Super Bowl commercial featuring the King and Bud Knight descends into chaos when the menacing Game of Thrones character the Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) makes a surprise appearance, defeating the defender of the “Dilly Dilly” kingdom in a jousting contest.
Building on the latest chapter of the medieval “Dilly Dilly” series, Bud Light’s agency, Wieden+Kennedy, collaborated with HBO and Droga5 on the 60-second spot, “Joust.” Production on the ad reunited more than 25 people from the Game of Thrones crew under the direction of David Nutter, the man who orchestrated the infamous “The Red Wedding” episode among others, and the collaboration of showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The first half of the spot was under the direction of Bud Light’s Spencer Riviera, who previously directed creative within the Bud Light medieval universe.
To kick off the next phase of its #ForTheThrone campaign, which asks fans, celebs and brands what they would do #ForTheThrone in celebration of the series’ final season (debuting April 14), HBO was looking for a stage and brand partner that could stand up to the powerhouse the show has become. Bud Light, known for delivering iconic Super Bowl commercials, was the top choice and jumped on board immediately.
The reveal of the Super Bowl commercial was intentionally left to in-game to maximize the surprise for fans and viewers alike. Simultaneously an extended version was revealed online, with additional Easter eggs for fans of the show to enjoy.
Credits
Client Anheuser-Busch/Bud Light, HBO Agency for HBO Droga5 NY David Droga, creative chairman; Neil Heymann, chief creative officer; Andrew Ferguson, group creative director; Dustin Tomes, Jono Paull, creative directors; Adrian Chan, Lauren Ferreira, associate creative directors; Tobias Lindborg, art director; Felix Karlsson, copywriter; Sally-Ann Dale, chief creation officer; Jesse Brihn, director of film production; Liliana Vega, sr. producer; Jonny Bauer, chief strategy officer. Agency for Bud Light W+K Colleen DeCourcy, co-president/CCO; Karl Lieberman, executive creative director; Brandon Henderson, John Parker, creative directors; Kevin Kaminishi, art director; Jessica Ghersi, copywriter; Nick Setounski, head of content production; Temma Shoaf, executive producer; Alexey Novikov, producer. Production O Positive David Nutter, Spencer Riviera, directors; Jonathan Freeman, DP; Ralph Laucella, Ken Licata, executive producers. Editorial Arcade Paul Martinez, Katie Weiland, editors; Thomas Bergerstock, assistant editor; Sila Soyer, exec producer; Fanny Cruz, producer. VFX The Mill New York Tony Robins, shoot supervisor; John McIntosh, 2D lead artist; Yoon-Sun Bae, Heather Kennedy Eck, Vi Nguyen, Matthew DeFranco, Ant Walsham, Neeraj Rajput, Samarendra Lenka, Inturi Chandra Sekharm, Bharath Ediga, Prasanna Bhat, Madhana Gopala, Venkatesh Srinvivasan, Badarinath Chinimilli, Ramanjaneyulu Thota, Nehal Desai, 2D artists. Tom Bardwell, 3D lead; Lauren Shields, Tim Kim,Hassan Taimur, James Mulholland, Todd Akita, Paul Liaw, Sandor Toledo, Ayush Bajoria, Leela Shanker, Spandana Battula, Raj Kumar, Tighe Rzankowski, 3D artists. Sue Jang, matte painting; Muralikrishna Reddy, tracking lead; Rijo R, tracking artist; Andrew Sommerville, exec producer; Clairellen Wallin, sr. producer; Michael Brown, Payal Thakkar, producers; Christina Chung, Umesh Chand, production coordinators. (Toolbox: Nuke, Flame, Maya and Houdini) VFX Pixomondo, Los Angeles Derek Spears, VFX supervisor; Chelsea Miller, VFX producer; Andrew Zeko, VFX coordinator; Daniel Knight, Fei Chen, Shawn Sahara, VFX artists; William Appleby, VFX editor; Tefft Smith II, Logan Shye, Michael Maker, animation. (Toolbox: Nuke, Maya Arnold) Sound Design Jafbox Sound Joseph Fraioli, sound designer. Sound Design Eargasm Inc. Paula Greenfield, sound designer. Music Walker Music Sara Matarazzo, Stephanie Pigott, exec producers; Danielle Soury, music coordinator. Music David Klotz, music editor. Audio Post Sound Lounge Tom Juacarone, mixer; Rob Difondi, co-sound engineer; Lauren Mullen, producer. Telecine Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist; Kevin Breheny, producer.
For the global EX30 Cross Country launch, Volvo and creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors wants to de-dramatize the outdoor experience--and remind people that small trips into nature can be grand experiences.
Cross Country is Volvo’s concept of turning their regular cars into more outdoor-capable versions, with higher ground clearance, all-wheel drive and other features making it more capable and off-road ready. And now, the compact, fully electric EX30 becomes available as a Cross Country version. It’s a small car designed for big experiences, made to elevate both urban living and outdoor adventure, and to bring people closer to nature.
“With Volvo being such a human-centric brand, it felt natural to focus on the human side of nature. The child’s perspective became the perfect metaphor for this, to spend time in nature on nature’s terms,” said Karl Risenfors, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors.
In a category that often portrays epic journeys deep into the wilderness, the campaign serves as a reminder that even everyday adventures can be memorable experiences. Thus this launch spot--directed by Marcus Ibanez via production company New-Land--shows nature through the point of view of a child. A child’s imagination and perspective generates a visual metaphor for the magic that nature can bring, no matter the scale of the adventure.
