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.
Directed by Steve Rogers via Biscuit Filmworks for agency VCCP London, this spot titled “Memory” opens with a daughter visiting her father at his home, a bar of Cadbury Wholenut chocolate in hand. Her father, living with dementia, smiles at the sight of the chocolate, recognizing it as a gift his daughter has bought him since she was a child. In this moment, he doesn’t recognize her as his daughter. Instead, he begins to tell her how this ritual gifting always makes his wife laugh because, as he proudly reveals, he’s always hated nuts.
The daughter can’t help but laugh, touched by the idea that her father has kept this secret for so long. As he looks at her earnestly, he asks her not to tell his “daughter”--meaning her--about the secret, because “it makes her so happy.” The daughter responds softly. “It does.” She recognizes the quiet generosity of her father’s long-held secret, something he’s kept hidden from her all these years, despite not always remembering who she is.
Cadbury is committed to telling inclusive stories rooted in human truths that are representative of the U.K. To ensure the story’s accurate portrayal of people living with dementia, Cadbury consulted with specialists throughout the development of the film.
Cadbury has extended its partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, into 2025. The two organizations first joined together in 2024 to celebrate the role of Cadbury in the nation’s shared memories and to support the charity’s mission for a cure for dementia.
“Memory” was brought to life with the help of VCCP’s global content production studio Girl&Bear. The film will run across the U.K. throughout 2025, appearing on TV, VOD,... Read More
