The main goal of this commercial was to distract the viewer using a diversion and also a false analogy.
The commercial consists of a narrator listing the things Bud Light has to offer, specifically never ending refreshment, and superior drinkability. The narrator then says that Bud Light has the new feature of giving the power of flight. Obviously, we know that it is ridiculous for a beer to give a person flying abilities, so we get a feeling of skepticism and disbelief after hearing the narrator. However, the rest of the commercial draws attention only to the fake flying aspect of the beer, making the viewer feel less skeptical. It draws the skeptical feelings a viewer would naturally have and pins them on something entirely unrelated to draw attention away from the incredibly vague terms used to positively describe the beer. What is "never ending refreshment", and what could drinkability possibly be? The viewer would ask themselves these questions, but the feeling of skepticism they have is pinned to the flying aspect of the beer, making these vague claims stick in their head. The flying claim also brings a credibility to the less ridiculous aspects of the commercial. If the commercial just said, "Buy our beer because of its refreshing qualities and its drinkability," people would laugh. Simply stating that theirs is better, and judging that statement on such an asinine scale as 'drinkability' does not hold up to rational criticism. However, they also lump flying abilities in with the drinkability, and because flying is so crazy, drinkability seems reasonable in comparison.
The commercial also uses a false analogy, to a lesser extent. The person who drinks the beer is shown to be flying because of the beer. Obviously no one thinks Bud Light will make them fly, but the commercial makes it seem like the other qualities of Bud Light must be close to flying. If Bud Light was engineered so well that it actually made people fly, then the other ingredients must be pretty good.
I thought this commercial executed its advertising techniques well, but I really disliked it. Commercials that add in random things like this that have absolutely nothing to do with the product really annoy me. Advertising techniques need to be used to sell products, but once a commercial has more about people flying than the actual product, you're overdoing it.
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