Alissa Heinerscheid and John Donahoe are two names that will go down in marketing infamy.
Heinerscheid was the Bud Light brand director who thought Bud Light had become too “fratty and out of touch.” Enter off-brand social influencers, terrible crisis management and double-digit sales losses that remain today.
Before joining Nike as CEO in 2020, Donahoe was a lifer consultant at Bain. He didn’t believe in emotional, heart pumping creative campaigns that built the Nike brand.
Michael Jordan’s Failure.
That stuff was a fluke, I guess. Like any good consultant, Donahoe dictated a data-driven, bottom-of-the-funnel digital marketing approach that flatlined. Nike stock price, market share and revenue all dropped over the course of Donahoe’s tenure. Solid.
Fortunately, both Bud Light and Nike are under new leadership and getting their mojo back. They’re being true to their brands again.
Nike’s Olympic campaign – Am I A Bad Person? – was brilliant. It recaptured the Nike ethos.
Just in time to entertain a Super Bowl audience, Bud Light is being fratty again. And it’s very much in touch with their core audience.
Big Men on Cul-de-Sac hits all the notes. Great casting with Post Malone, Shane Gillis and Peyton Manning (sporting the nerdiest fanny pack EVER). Clever references to everyday problems like pesky HOAs. And funny, fratty humor including perhaps the greatest copy line in a while: “My smoker cuts grass. I spent most of my money on this.”
Cheers, Bud Light and Nike. You’re back.
