Bud Light Brings Back ‘Real Men Of Genius’ Ad To Celebrate Gronk & Tampa Bay Super Bowl Win

“Gronk once again caused opponents to ask, ‘How will we defend ourselves if his planet sends more like him?'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eS-LPQmUBk

When it came to celebrating Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a decisive 31-9 win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, Bud Light went the extra mile. They reached all the way back to one of their classic ad campaigns of the 1990s and early 2000s, Real Men of Genius. 

The end result is some real throwback gold.

It wasn’t the most thrilling Super Bowl ever, but it was a striking kind of comeback both for the Bucs as a team and for Tom Brady, whose age has invited skepticism about how much longer he would remain in full-on GOAT form. Somehow, Survivor lead singer Dave Bickler soulfully (in a silly way) wailing about “Real Men of Genius” like it was 1998 all over again felt perfectly appropriate.

In case these retro references do nothing for you, here’s a reminder of the original ad campaign.

Credit to the team that brought this classic back: They kept it just as weird as the original, which was characterized by the absurd voiceover narration dropping sarcastic lines that made it clear this was anything but genius. This line in the new video, for example: “Gronk once again caused opponents to ask, ‘How will we defend ourselves if [his] planet sends more like him?'”

Also it’s worth noting that it might have been one of the most unexpectedly entertaining spots in a Super Bowl broadcast remarkably devoid of the kind of creative advertising some have come to expect.

Sure, it’s a crazy question, but is what Gronk can still do in the end zone human? Maybe the Real Men of Genius folks at Bud Light are onto something.