Shane Gillis & Bud Light Team Up For Laugh-Out-Loud “Safari Tailgaters” Commercial

I can’t remember the last time I watched a commercial that legitimately made me laugh out loud.

Shane Gillis and Bud Light are back for another season of hilarious, college-football-themed advertising. I know mentioning that specific light beer brand can still be a little controversial for those that are still participating in the Bud Light Boycott. In defense of the beer, they’ve really tried to shake things up – advertising wise – ever since they cratered the company by partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in March of 2023.

It’s believed that partnership cost Anheuser-Busch InBev over $1.4 billion in sales.

Ever since then, Bud Light has done their best to go back to the basics, clean house (the lady who called Bud Light drinkers “fratty” and “out of touch” got canned), and restore the brand’s image to what it once was. Anything that they’ve done post-Bud-Light-boycott reverts back to the traditional beer commercials that you would probably think about from the Bud Knight and Dilly Dilly days.

And a big part of that has been signing on people like comedian Shane Gillis and country/pop star Post Malone to be brand ambassadors.

The ads that Bud Light have rolled out in the past couple of years with Shane Gillis have actually been funny. One was a “Welcome Back to College Football” ad, and the other poked fun at those crazy perfume/cologne commercials you see on television. They ended with a bang at the Super Bowl with a “Big Men On The Cul-De-Sac” spot featuring both Gillis and Malone. Hope I’m not triggering anyone when I say this… it really does seem as though Bud Light is back on track.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Bud Light and Shane Gillis unleashed a “Bud Light Here” ad that acted as a hilarious appetizer for the football season. And it wasn’t a one-and-done thing. They came back today with a follow-up that’s literally laugh-out-loud funny. To be transparent, this two-minute ad spot was responsible for two to three audible laughs from this guy right here (I’m pointing both thumbs at myself).

The idea is that Shane Gillis is a “Safari Guide,” and he’s got a group of people in the safari truck ready to catch a glimpse of a wild… tailgater. Yes, Gillis and the rest in the vehicle pull up to an empty parking lot, and after those that were promised to see “tailgaters” start getting antsy that the parking lot is vacant, Shane the Safari Guide pulls out the Bud Lights.

What ensues is pure hilarity. I don’t want to spoil too much, just so you can go into it fresh (and hopefully laugh). But I’m comfortable in saying that Bud Light is back… they put out a commercial that’s actually on par with some of the best sketch comedy shows.

“Safari”

Absolutely brilliant.

Shane Gillis in safari getup? That first tailgater that pops out? Being careful handing a Bud Light to a fan as if they were a wild animal? The wife losing her husband to the herd of tailgaters, and being told that she “did sign a waiver.” Now THIS is how you make a commercial.

Take notes… every other brand out there.The post Shane Gillis & Bud Light Team Up For Laugh-Out-Loud “Safari Tailgaters” Commercial first appeared on Whiskey Riff.