AB bets on Nelly for Lime-A-Rita revamp

Anheuser Busch is hoping US rapper Nelly will help revive its flagging Bud Lime-A-Rita brand, featuring the singer’s 2002 hit “Hot in Herre” in an ad that marks the start of a major investment in the brand.

The song “Hot in Herre” backs a new 30-second ad for the 8% ABV flavoured malt beverage, which made its debut this week and also aired during the Grammy Awards at a reported cost of $1 million.

Its release marks renewed efforts by Anheuser Busch to revive the brand, which launched in 2012 but saw volume sales drop by 23% in the fourth quarter of last year, as reported by Ad Week.

The brands’s senior director Mallika Monteiro confirmed that the campaign will include five ads in total, AB InBev’s biggest push on the brand to date. On the brand’s song choice, Monteiro said they had purposely chosen an older song, describing Nelly’s hit as “wedding hip-hop” that makes “people take notice and get on the dance floor.”

In March another ad will air promoting a new lower-alcohol line extension of Lime-A-Rita called Lime-A-Rita Splash, a new 4% abv RTD billed as a “refreshing margarita” for weekday drinking. Both are classified as flavoured malt beverages combining Bud Light with citrus to create a twist on the classic Margarita cocktail.