Ultimate Tailgating Machine: Bud Light’s ’90s-Style Infomercial

Essential Points

• Partnership: Bud Light has partnered with Traeger Grills to launch the Traegerator, an innovative grill-keg hybrid.
• Promotion: The product is promoted through a nostalgic infomercial featuring NFL players George Kittle and Baker Mayfield.
• Marketing Strategy: This approach allows Bud Light to navigate NFL advertising restrictions while focusing on the grill instead of the beer.
• Football Season: The Traegerator’s release aligns with the start of football season, emphasizing its role in tailgate culture.

Bud Light is getting fired up for tailgate season through a partnership with Traeger Grills to create the Traegerator, a keg-meets-grill machine complete with built-in speakers, according to a press release. To promote the novelty item, the two brands released an infomercial-style social video spot starring Bud Light brand partners George Kittle, tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, and Baker Mayfield, quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 90-second spot, modeled after infomercials of the ‘90s, begins as Kittle and Mayfield daydream about a grill that can do it all before the Traegerator appears from a cloudy haze. As the grill is revealed, complete with a top that resembles a Bud Light can, a jingle begins to play as the football players dance and show off the machine’s various features.

Making the Traegerator the focus of the ad, rather than Bud Light itself, provides the Anheuser-Busch InBev brand a unique loophole to work with active NFL players. The NFL bars active players from directly endorsing alcohol. Despite being covered in Bud Light branding, the grill is the focus, and Kittle and Mayfield never touch or interact with beer during the infomercial.

Beyond the spot, Bud Light is encouraging consumers to comment on a dedicated Instagram post with the hashtags #Traegerator and #Sweepstakes for the chance to win a tailgate with the Traegerator. Novelty products are another way beer brands can get around the league’s restrictions. In kind, Coors Light, owned by Molson Coors, had Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes promote a branded flashlight in a play on the brand’s name. Mahomes also worked with Coors Light to bury a time capsule containing an ad for the brand, to be opened after the player has permission to directly endorse the brand.

The release of the Traegerator lines up with the start of both the college and professional football seasons. Tailgate culture is a major component of the football season, with the grill playing a central role. Bud Light’s creation fills the role of grill, speakers, and keg, merging essential tailgate components into one. Beyond its latest move, Bud Light has made tailgating a core focus of its marketing through recent tie-ups with brand partner Peyton Manning and comedian Shane Gillis.

AB InBev posted a Q2 revenue of $15 billion, a 2.15% decrease year-over-year, according to an earnings call. While the company continues to invest in Bud Light, it has shifted its focus to other brands in its portfolio, such as Busch Light, according to executives.