Bud Light and HBO: Joust by Droga5 & Wieden+Kennedy
- Location:
Tonight’s (3 February) Super Bowl saw HBO and Bud Light unveil a surprise hybrid commercial, which saw Game of Thrones’ The Mountain defeat the Bud Knight and Daenerys Targaryen’s dragon burn the ‘Dilly Dilly’ kingdom to ash.
The spot begins as a regular ad from Bud Light, now known for its comedically medieval ‘Dilly Dilly aesthetic’. The Bud Knight is seen to be knocked from his horse in a jousting match, yet it’s only when the gigantic silhouette of The Mountain looms over that viewers realize they’re also watching a promo for the final season of Game of Thrones.
Once the Bud Knight is extinguished in similar fashion to Oberyn Martell, the spectators at the match become more concerned by a dragon flying their way. The flying reptile proceeds to breathe fire upon all those watching in the Dilly Dilly stadium.
The ad is the work of Bud Light’s creative agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, who collaborated with HBO and Droga5 New York to produce the spot. The ad was kept under wraps until it aired during the Super Bowl, in order to make as big an impact as possible.
More than 25 of Game of Thrones’ production staff worked with the ad agencies on the 60-second ‘Joust’, including ‘The Red Wedding’ director David Nutter. The spot’s first half was directed by filmmaker Spencer Riviera, who has previously worked with the beer brand.
An extended, 90-second version of the ad was published online when the spot aired.
Credits
Client
HBO
EVP, Consumer Marketing
Chris Spadaccini
EVP, Program Marketing And Creative Services
Zach Enterlin
EVP Digital & Social Media
Sabrina Caluori
VP Digital & Social Media
Jim Marsh
VP, Creative Services
Eric Council
VP Program Marketing
Son
o Mitchell
Director, Program Marketing
Alex Diamond
Director Program Marketing
Steven Cardwell
Director Digital & Social Media
Emily Giannusa
Associate Creative Director
Anthony Mauro
Manager, Program Marketing
Krista Jackson
GOT Creator and
Executive Producer
David Benioff
GOT Creator and Executive Producer
D.B. Weiss
Client
Bud Light, Anheuser
-
Busch
VP, US Marketing
Marcel Pereira Marcondes
VP Marketing, Bud Light
Andy Goeler
Sr. Director, Bud Light
Alissa Heinerscheid
Sr. Director, Bud Light
Joe Lennon
Sr. Digital Brand Manager, Bud Light
Kyle Lazarus
Agency for HBO
Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman
David Droga
Chief Creative Officer
Neil Heymann
Group Creative Director
Andrew Fergusson
Creative Director
Dustin Tomes
Creative Director
Jono Paull
Associate Creative Director
Adrian Chan
Associate Creative Director
Lauren Ferreira
Art Director
Tobias Lindborg
Copywriter
Felix Karlsson
Chief Creation Officer
Sally-Ann Dale
Director of Film Production
Jesse Brihn
Senior Producer
Liliana Vega
Head of Business Affairs
Jocelyn Howard
Celebrity Talent Relations, Associate Director
Lindsey McElroy
Business Affairs Manager
Abigail Press
Chief Strategy Of
ficer
Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director
Will Davie
Group Communications Strategy Director
Samantha Deevy
Communications Strategy Director
Elsa Stahura
Group Data Strategy Director
Anthony Khaykin
Senior Data Strategist
Tradd Salvo
Chief Communications Officer
Marianne Stefanowicz
Managing Director
Dan Gonda
Group Account Director
Lauren LaValle
Account Director
Ola Abayomi
Account Manager
Ashley Diddell
Project Manager
Carolyn Brafman
Legal
Sa
rah Fox
Agency for Bud Light
W+K
Co
-
President/CCO
Colleen DeCourcy
Executive Creative Director
Karl Lieberman
Creative Director
Brandon Henderson
Creative Director
John Parker
Art Director
Kevin Kaminishi
Copywriter
Jessica Ghersi
Head of Content Production
Nick Setounski
Executive Producer
Temma Shoaf
Producer
Alexey Novikov
Director of Business Affairs
Patrick O’Donoghue
Senior Business Affairs Manager
Justine Lowe
Business Affairs Coordinator
An
drea Sierra
Traffic Director
Sonia Bisono
Traffic Manager
Tina Wyatt
Project Manager
Vimal Patel
Group Account Director
Brandon Pracht
Account Director
Price Manford
Management Supervisor
Alex Scaros
Account Supervisor
Lauren W
ilson
Production Company
O Positive
Director
David Nutter
Director
Spencer Riviera
DP
Jonathan Freeman
Executive Producer
Ralph Laucella
Executive Producer
Ken Licata
Editorial Company
Arcade
Editor
Paul Martinez
Editor
Katie Weiland
Assistant Editor
Thomas Bergerstock
Executive Producer
Sila Soyer
Producer
Fanny Cruz
VFX Company
The Mill
Shoot Supervisor
Tony Robins
2D Lead
John McIntosh
2D Artist
Yoon
-
Sun Bae, Heather Kennedy,
Vi Nguyen, Matthew DeFranco,
Ant Walsham, Neeraj Rajput,
Samarendra Lenka
Inturi Chandra Sekharm,
Bharath Ediga, Prasanna Bhat,
Madhana Gopala, Venkatesh Srinvivasan,
Badarina
th Chinimilli, Ramanjaneyulu Thota
Nehal Desai
3D Lead
Tom Bardwell
3D Artists
Lauren Shields, Tim Kim,Hassan Taimur,
James Mulholland, Todd Akita,
Paul Liaw, Sandor Toledo,
Ayush Bajoria, Leela Shanker,
Spandana Battula, Raj Kumar
Matte
Painting
Sue Jang
Executive Producer
Andrew Sommerville
Producer
Clariellen Wallin
Producer
Michael Brown, Payal Thakkar
Coordinator
Christina Chung
VFX Company
Pixomondo
VFX Supervisor
Derek Spears
VFX Producer
Chelsea Miller
VFX Coordinator
Andrew Zeko
VFX Artists
Daniel Knight, Fei Chen, Shawn Sahara
VFX Editor
William Appleby
Sound Design
Jafbox Sound
Sound Designer
Joseph Fraioli
Sound Design
Eargasm Inc.
Sound Designer
Paula
Greenfield
Music
Walker Music
Executive Producer
Sara Matarazzo
Executive Producer
Stephanie Pigott
Music Coordinator
Danielle Soury
Music
Music Editor
David Klotz
Mix
Sound Lounge
Mixer
Tom Jucarone
Co
-
Sound Engineer
Rob Difondi
Producer
Lauren Mullen
Telecine
Company 3
Colorist
Tim Masick
Producer
Kevin Breheny