Designing the treatment that helped win a competitive pitch for one of the most culturally resonant campaigns Bud Light has made — featuring Post Malone at the peak of his moment.
Bud Light and Post Malone were deep into one of the most authentic brand-artist partnerships in recent advertising history — rooted in their “Famous Among Friends” platform and the Bud Light Dive Bar Tour. When Wieden+Kennedy set out to produce the Friendship Test campaign, they needed a production company that could match the energy of that partnership on screen. The pitch process was competitive. My role at Raucous Content was to design the treatment — the visual document that communicates a director’s creative vision and makes the case for why one production house should get the job over all the others. This is that story.
The Friendship Test was a hidden camera social experiment — Post Malone showing up unannounced at an LA dive bar, texting unsuspecting strangers’ best friends increasingly absurd requests to prove their loyalty. A lamp. An inflatable T-Rex costume. Real friends, real reactions, real humor. The concept was rooted in Bud Light’s brand truth — that the best moments happen with the people who actually show up. The treatment had to sell that warmth, spontaneity, and humor before a single camera rolled.
Full visual treatment design — translating director Paul Iannacchino’s creative vision into a pitch document that communicated the tone, humor, and spontaneity of the concept clearly enough to win the confidence of Wieden+Kennedy and the Bud Light team.
Mood and reference curation — selecting imagery and visual references that captured the hidden camera, unscripted energy of the concept while staying true to the warmth and irreverence of the Bud Light brand.
Visual narrative structure — designing the treatment to guide the reader through the concept with the same pacing and energy the finished spot would have. The document had to feel fun before anything existed.
Production coordination — supporting the full pipeline from winning pitch through final delivery, ensuring the creative vision translated faithfully from page to screen.
Pitch Won — Raucous Content selected over competing production houses by Wieden+Kennedy
Produced + Released — The spot was produced, released, and covered by Complex, HipHopDX, and major entertainment media
Wieden+Kennedy — One of advertising’s most respected agencies trusted our treatment to represent their campaign vision
Cultural Reach — Part of a partnership that grew into one of the most recognizable brand-artist collaborations in modern advertising
The Friendship Test worked because it was built on a deeply human insight, people reveal their true character through how they show up for others. Identifying that insight, then designing a visual document that communicated it clearly enough to move decision-makers to action, is human-centered design. The medium was a pitch deck. The discipline was empathy. The outcome was a campaign that resonated because it was true. That same thinking is what I bring to every UX problem.
The treatment designer’s role is rarely visible, the work lives behind the work that the world actually sees. But without it, nothing gets greenlit, nothing gets made, and nothing airs. Learning to make the invisible work compelling is one of the most valuable skills I carry. It shows up in everything I do.
