According to a new survey conducted by the beer brand in June this year, there is a “friendship recession” taking place among men, with the Canadian survey finding that “seven out of ten men spend less time with their friends as they age”.

This has resulted in a purpose-led campaign from the brand, which aims to highlight, and hopefully help change, these stats. There are a number of components to the campaign, but perhaps most strikingly, Budweiser Canada dropped the ‘Bud’ from its wordmark on billboards and on other signage, plus from its name on social media.

It then released a film ahead of International Friendship Day on July 30, which features interviews with men about how their friendships may have changed over time.

The short documentary includes some pretty obvious stunts to try and get the men to emote, though they manage to deliver some honest and thoughtful responses despite this. And with middle-aged men more likely to die from suicide than any other age group, this is undoubtedly an important topic to discuss.

anomaly.com