Anheuser-Busch InBev SA is trying to magic away the lingering controversy surrounding its Bud Light brand.

The world’s biggest brewer has released its new Super Bowl ad for the beer. It features musician Post Malone, former football great Peyton Manning and Ultimate Fighting Championship Chief Executive Officer Dana White. They appear to a group of friends on a night out, in response to wishes granted by a new character, the Bud Light Genie, who is unleashed from a bottle of the beer.

So-called “Megabrew” will need more than wizardry to move on from the backlash sparked by the partnership last year with transgender influencer and actor Dylan Mulvaney. This is still causing a hangover, and even the expense and razzamatazz of the Super Bowl is unlikely to revive the brand. Investors are hoping Donald Trump might though, after his support for Bud Light sent its parent’s shares up the most since the end of October.

Bud Light has struggled since its tie-up with Mulvaney last April. With younger people increasingly turning to spirits, brewers need beer to appeal to a broader, more youthful audience. But the campaign enraged some core Bud Light customers. And rather than doubling down on diversity, Bud Light quickly retreated, frustrating all sides. Although it remains the US number one by the volume of beer sold, in terms of the value of sales it lost the top slot to Constellation Brands Inc.’s Modelo Especial, according to an analysis of NielsenIQ data by BUMP Williams Consulting.

I argued last year that to move forward, AB InBev needed to invest heavily in upgrading Bud Light beer, bolstering the brand, and intensifying its marketing.

The Super Bowl spot certainly fits the bill. AB InBev has been a long-time advertiser at the game. In a fragmented media landscape, the Super Bowl is one of the few moments when many viewers still come together. It’s also an occasion that fits perfectly with beer drinking. For Bud Light, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with customers who may have deserted the brand.The spot comes on top of other recent marketing efforts, including a push ahead of the football season featuring stars like Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce. AB InBev also signed a multi-year sponsorship of UFC, whereby Bud Light has become the official beer of the mixed martial arts organization owned by TKO Group Holdings Inc. But this won’t come cheap. A 30-second spot at the Super Bowl, for example, will cost about $7 million, according to Ad Age, which tracks the marketing spend.

AB InBev will also run ads starring Lionel Messi for its Michelob Ultra brand, which has bounced back after also stumbling last year, and Budweiser, featuring its Clydesdale horses. But most is riding on the Bud Light commercial.

Dollar sales of Bud Light across all retail outlets fell 20.4% in 2023, according to NielsenIQ and BUMP Williams Consulting. As a result, North America accounted for a quarter of AB InBev’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the first nine months of 2023, compared with just under a third in 2022, according to Duncan Fox, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Bud Light’s market share losses aren’t getting any worse, but neither are they getting much better.

When it comes to customer perceptions of Bud Light, there has been some improvement, perhaps helped by Kid Rock, its most famous detractor, saying that he was done with the boycott. On Tuesday, Trump defended AB InBev’s US business and suggested his supporters give Bud Light a second chance. The company said in October that 40% of lapsed Bud Light drinkers were more open to returning to the brand than they were in April.

But Bud Light’s brand health is still not back to the level before the partnership with Mulvaney, particularly among men. It’s a similar picture when it comes to how likely consumers would be to buy Bud Light.

Even if some customers have moved on, the incident has been painful for AB InBev. It raises questions over whether the company will need to adjust the $22 billion of U.S. intangible assets on its balance sheet, notes Fox. The events have also overshadowed the the company’s progress reducing its debt.

Borrowings are expected to be $66 billion at the end of 2023, according to Trevor Stirling, analyst at Bernstein, just over three times Ebitda, the level at which investors start to become more comfortable. Debt was $108 billion in 2016, following the acquisition of SABMiller. Underscoring the improvement in the balance sheet, AB InBev announced a $1 billion share buyback, and it’s possible it could set out plans for further returns to investors with its annual earnings later this month.

For now though, shareholders will be hoping another wish is granted by the Bud Light Genie: that marketing initiatives like the Super Bowl ad can revive what is still a hugely important brand.

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering consumer goods and the retail industry.