Budweiser’s new ad campaign for 4th of July is drawing unexpected controversy for being pro-vaccine. After the company posted the ad on its Twitter account this week, many praised it for its overt and intense patriotism while others vowed to boycott the company after Pullman urged viewers to defeat COVID-19 by getting the coronavirus vaccine and donating to a vaccine charity organization.
For the first time in 25 years, Bill Pullman is back with a new speech to celebrate Independence Day. Watch now and #GoFourthAmerica.
Join us in supporting vaccine access everywhere in partnership with @directrelief pic.twitter.com/yt6CmU9kSP
— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) June 30, 2021
- Pullman brought back a beloved character for the ad. The speech he gave in the commercial was very much like the one President Thomas J. Whitmore gave in Independence Day as aliens were about to take over the earth. He had previously refused to revive the character as he felt it would “violate” the original movie. It was only when Budweiser approached him about an ad that featured some messaging around COVID vaccination that he was on board for doing so.
- Pullman was behind the vaccine-heavy message in the ad. As The Hollywood Reporter reveals, Budweiser’s original idea for the ad had more of a “the coronavirus pandemic is in the rear-view mirror, let’s party” vibe and Pullman wasn’t feeling it. He decided to tweak the script to its present form the Budweiser approved. He wanted to encourage people to spend time with loved ones and celebrate but to do so responsibly because COVID-19 is still very much out there.
- The messaging isn’t all about covid. There’s a lot of pro-America messaging, saying we’re all the same because we’re Americans and that we should help those less fortunate and all of that. That’s great, and many patriotic viewers were happy with that, just not the whole vaccination part.
- Some people thought the message didn’t go far enough. While many were unhappy with the pro-vaccine vibe of the Budweiser ad, others thought Bill Pullman should have gone even further and directly told people to get the vaccine rather than skirting around the issue.
What do you think?
