Justin Timberlake Named Creative Director of Bud Light Platinum

I SEE THIS IS BECOMING A NEW TREND IN CORPORATE AMERICA

Justin Timberlake has teamed up with Bud Light Platinum to become the brand’s new creative director, Anheuser-Busch announced Thursday, with a new commercial featuring the singer and his comeback single “Suit & Tie” debuting during Sunday nights’ Grammy Awards. The partnership was brokered by ad agency Translation, who just last year teamed with Budweiser for the Jay-Z curated festival Made In America.
As part of the deal, Timberlake will be charged with providing “creative, musical and cultural curation” for the Bud Light Platinum brand, per a press release announcing the partnership. Additional terms were not disclosed. “Bud Light Platinum brings a refined, discerning aesthetic to beer that plays well with what I’m doing,” Timberlake said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to not only being a part of the creative process, but in bringing other talented musicians to the forefront as well.”
Budweiser has previously tapped Jay-Z for a similar creative director role for its Budweiser Select brand in 2006, and continues to work with musicians on endorsement pacts. Pitbull is currently the face of Bud Light, with two campaigns geared toward the English and Spanish-language markets currently airing.
“Justin Timberlake is one of the greatest creative minds in the entertainment industry, and his insights will help us further define Bud Light Platinum’s identity in the lifestyle space,” Paul Chibe, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of U.S. marketing, said in a statement. “Since launching Bud Light Platinum last year, we’ve worked to align the brand closely with music, including leveraging tracks by Kanye West and Avicii in our first ads. Partnering with Justin as he makes his return to music brings a new level of relevance and credibility to the brand.”
The Timberlake-Bud Light Platinum pact is also the third in a trio of musician-based creative director deals in the past week alone, from Swizz Beatz joining Monster earlier this week as an investor and board member to Beatz’ wife Alicia Keys joining BlackBerry last week as the global creative director of BlackBerry.
Bud Light is the latest marketer to announce plans to debut music-related creative during this Sunday’s Grammys. Pepsi will premiere a spot featuring “X Factor” season 2 winner Tate Stevens, Cover Girl will unveil new ads featuring spokesmusicians Janelle Monae and Nervo, and Chevrolet will debut its first advertising for new tagline “Find New Roads” with an expected music focus. Ads for this year’s ceremony reached a record peak of $900,000 for certain 30-second spots, following 2012’s second-highest ratings in Grammy history.