6 Top Athletes Go Bowling in Michelob Ultra's Episodic Super Bowl Campaign

Serena Williams and Peyton Manning unwind from their fast-lane lives at a fictional bowling alley created by Michelob Ultra for its star-studded big-game campaign.

Wieden+Kennedy New York created three Super Bowl ads for the AB InBev brand with Iconoclast director (and Oscar-nominated cinematographer) Rachel Morrison. They take place at “The Superior Bowl,” where Steve Buscemi tends bar and sprays shoes. He played Donny Kerabatsos in The Big Lebowski, so this stuff seems right up his alley. (Heh.)

Along with Serena and Peyton, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, WNBA standout Nneka Ogwumike, golfer Brooks Koepka and World Cup soccer champ Alex Morgan appear in the :90 below:

ELO’s bluesy, 1973 slow-burner “Showdown” drives the action in suitably beery style.

Filming took place at a bowling alley outside Atlanta. That setting represents “a level playing field” for male and female athletes, says Richard Marques, Ultra’s VP of marketing.

Such notions also inform the brand’s pledge to dedicate half of its lifestyle media dollars to content covering women players and events, for a total of $100 million over the next five years. Marques views the Super Bowl push as a thematic extension of that initiative, with both sexes enjoying camaraderie and some “friendly competition” in a sport where none holds the advantage. (Though we all know Serena would win.)

A minute-long edit of the spot above will run nationally in-game, along with this :30, which features Koepka and a caddy mulling Ultra Organic Seltzer selections:

A third ad, airing in Florida and Texas, sees platinum-selling Latin singer Becky G. order Ultra Pure Gold Organic Lager:

“Enjoying the ride along the way is not a distraction but in fact an essential part of life,” Marques says. “That’s why with our ‘Superior Bowl’ campaign, we are once again highlighting the fun and joyful side of some of the world’s greatest athletes and entertainers, while also delivering on our commitment to gender equality in sports.”

Williams, Manning, Koepka and Morgan also starred in Ultra’s SB outing last year, which exuded a documentary vibe and asked, “Are you happy because you win, or do you win because you’re happy?”

CREDITS

CLIENT NAME: MICHELOB ULTRA
CLIENT: Michelob ULTRA
PROJECT NAME: Michelob ULTRA Super Bowl LVI
FORMAT: TVC, Digital, Social
CLIENT CONTACTS: Talita Andrade
Kerry Scalora
Samantha Durrant
Aamir Raj
MICHELOB ULTRA, A-B INBEV
US CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Benoit Garbe
VP OF MARKETING – MICHELOB ULTRA Ricardo Marques
SENIOR DIRECTOR – MICHELOB ULTRA Talita Andrade
DIRECTOR – MICHELOB ULTRA Kerry Scalora
DIRECTOR – MICHELOB ULTRA ORGANIC SELTZER Samantha Durrant
BRAND MANAGER – MICHELOB ULTRA PURE GOLD Aamir Raj
Head of Music & Entertainment, Anheuser-Busch Shana Barry
PR: 3PM, Weber Shandwick
MEDIA: Dentsu Aegis Network, Vizeum
ENTERTAINMENT: Synergy Productions
LAUNCH DATE: February 8, 2022
AGENCIES: W+K NEW YORK
GLOBAL CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Karl Lieberman
GLOBAL CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Neal Arthur
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PLANNING: Marcus Collins
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Blair Warren
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Matt Mulvey
ART DIRECTOR: Jacobi Mehringer
COPYWRITER: Tommy Woods
HEAD OF INTEGRATED PRODUCTION: Nick Setounski
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Dave Lambert
SENIOR PRODUCER: Marisa Bursteen
GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Brooke Stites
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Lauren Smith
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR: Meredith Zambito
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Connor Layden
STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Ellery Luse
COMMS DIRECTOR: Zack Green
ASSOCIATE COMMS DIRECTOR: Erinn Morrison
PROJECT MANAGER: Nicole Lopez
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Karen Murillo
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Maria Elia
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Paul FitzGerald
BROADCAST TRAFFIC DIRECTOR: Sonia Bisono
TRAFFIC MANAGER: Laura Guerra
PRODUCTION COMPANY ICONOCLAST
DIRECTOR/DP Rachel Morrison
HEAD OF PRODUCTION Charlies Marie Anthonioz
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Caroline Pham
LINE PRODUCER Jennifer Barrons
PHOTOGRAPHER Tina Rowden
BTS Kate Dean
EDITORIAL COMPANY: ARTS ACADEMY
EDITOR: Tommy Harden
Asst EDITOR: Lee Bacak Jr.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Sara Greene
PRODUCER/HOP: Chelsea Spensley
TELECINE COMPANY: COMPANY3
COLORIST: Tom Poole
PRODUCER: Alexandra Lubrano
VFX/FINISHING: THE MILL
SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Clairellen Wallin
PRODUCER Ija Ocha
COORDINATOR Tara Goodman
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jimmy Bullard
Co-HEAD of 2D/2D LEAD Anne Trotman
2D ARTISTS Sam Caine, Burtis Scott, Tara Holland, Margolit
Steiner, Blake Druery
MIX COMPANY: HEARD CITY
MIXER: Phil Loeb
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Sasha Awn
SOUND DESIGNER: Brian Emrich
MUSIC TRACK (SUPERIOR BOWL :60)
MUSIC ARTIST: Electric Light Orchestra
TRACK: Showdown
PUBLISHING: SonyATV
LABEL: Sony Music & Universal Music
MUSIC TRACK (GOLDEN :30)
MUSIC ARTIST: Click Bait
TRACK: Spanish Fly
PUBLISHING: Extreme Music
MUSIC TRACK (CADDY :30)
MUSIC ARTIST: Jimmy Ruffin
TRACK: Baby I Got It
PUBLISHING: SonyATV
LABEL: Sony Music & Universal Music
MUSIC SUPERVISION: Sunny Kapoor/ Curation Music