Bud Light Aside, There’s No Doubting AB InBev’s Dominance

Bud Light Aside, There’s No Doubting AB InBev’s Dominance
David Hovenden
By David Hovenden



AB InBev CMO Marcel Marcondes opened the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity after his company was named Marketing Team of the Year for the first time in history two years in a row.

Speaking in front of a packed house to open the 2023 Cannes Lions 70th edition, his initial message was that as a company that sells beer, his aim was to create more drinking opportunities; an idea B&T can get right behind.

He said that as the leading beer brewing company in the world, AB InBev’s key mission was to lead and to grow the category.

Making little mention of the Bud Light fiasco that has dominated headlines recently, Marcondes said that Bud Light would soon be back to number one off the back of the company listening to its customers.

“It’s tough to see all the controversial and divisive debates happening in the U.S. the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including, especially, Bud Light,” he said.

“When things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers to be very humble,” he added.

And to be fair, if any business was in the position to absorb such a massive backlash, AB InBev would undoubtedly be it.

Not only named the Cannes Lions Marketer of the Year two years running, but the company has also been named the Effies most effective brand for the same brace as well as the WARC brand of choice for the same period.

But far from take a victory lap, Marcondes stressed the importance of staying humble.

“It’s been a process of learning, and we’ve made a lot of mistakes,” says Marcondes. “The big thing we’ve learned from experience is that the trap is when you think great work is what gets people’s attention, period. People feel, especially nowadays, that they need to chase attention in culture. Just because something gets a lot of attention, doesn’t mean it’s great. The key elements we learned from our mistakes is that creativity is great only when it’s used to address real consumer and business problems.”




Please login with linkedin to comment

    Latest comments

    1. ”Just because something gets a lot of attention, doesn’t mean it’s great”..says Marcondes.

      Get this bloke in front of Albo and the Voice “Yes” brigade 🙂

AB-InBev Bud Light Cannes Lions 2023 Marcele Marcondes

Latest News

Slew Of Senior Hires At Sparro by Brainlabs & Jack Nimble
  • Advertising

Slew Of Senior Hires At Sparro by Brainlabs & Jack Nimble

Independent digital marketing agency, Sparro by Brainlabs, and creative production agency, Jack Nimble, have announced four new senior hires across the agency group. The appointments follow several significant recent new business wins and product launches. Lead image: Kiki Jones, Morgen Mathews, Lauren Nixon-Smith, Michael Sparkes Kiki Jones joins Jack Nimble as group account director following […]

SBS Audio Campaign Tells The Stories Of New Australians, With Multilingual Content Offerings To Assist Migrants
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns

SBS Audio Campaign Tells The Stories Of New Australians, With Multilingual Content Offerings To Assist Migrants

SBS Audio has launched a new marketing campaign for its ‘Australia Explained’ service which supports new migrants to successfully navigate life in Australia and achieve a greater sense of belonging and social cohesion. SBS’s flagship service for new migrants, Australia explained, has launched a multi-platform marketing campaign that reaches into the heart of the migrant […]

Tracker App Launches, Promising Consumers A Read On Brand’s & Products Sustainability Chops
  • Advertising

Tracker App Launches, Promising Consumers A Read On Brand’s & Products Sustainability Chops

Shoppers can now get access to sustainability information at their fingertips through Tracker, a first-of-its-kind mobile app. The Tracker app centralises sustainability data into a single, easy-to-understand format, helping shoppers make informed choices about the brands and products they support. Shoppers can simply scan the barcode of their favourite supermarket, chemist or department store item […]