User:Vchimpanzee/I Love You, Man (Bud Light)

I Love You, Man is an advertising campaign for Bud Light beer which began in 1995.

The ads
In the first commercial in 1995, Johnny, played by Rob Fitzgerald, is one of two sons fishing with their father from a pier. Johnny tells the father "I love you, man", to which the father responds, "You're not getting my Bud Light." David Merhar of DDB Needham told The Wall Street Journal that the idea was "to pull people in like a Hallmark card". He said the commercial was inspired by his telling his own father "I love you, man." Fitzgerald made an appearance at Super Bowl XXX where fans cheered after they saw him on a screen.

Later commercials showed Johnny telling his feelings to others. Fitzgerald became so famous people would walk up to him and say, "I love you man!" Fitzgerald appeared several times on Late Show with David Letterman and said, "Dave, I love you, man."

Another version of the commercial featured Charlton Heston telling a story about the making of Ben-Hur. Director Steve Chase said that Heston told him, ""Steven, you mustn’t be afraid to direct me. You mustn’t be intimidated. Just tell me what you want." Told to be himself, Heston said, "I’ve never played me before."

The actor
Rob Fitzgerald played for the University of Missouri Tigers football team from 1974 to 1977, earning a degree in radio, TV and film and signing with the St. Louis Cardinals. Due to an injury, he was cut before he ever played. He had acting roles in Thelma & Louise, 3 Days to Kill, Zoey 101 and American Crime Story. Fitzgerald played the "I Love You, Man" character in a commercial airing during Super Bowl LV in 2021 that introduced a Bud Light Legends campaign. In the commercial, he helped a delivery driver whose truck overturned, making sure the beer got delivered.