AdTime Marketing Activates Butcher Boy Cooking Oils at the Bud Billiken Parade

AdTime Marketing was proud to be back on Chicago’s South Side once again this year for the Bud Billiken Parade, one of the largest African American parades in the country. This marks another successful year in our ongoing partnership with the parade, further strengthening our roots in the South Side community year after year.

This year, our team produced an experiential activation on behalf of our client, Columbus Vegetable Oils, makers of Butcher Boy Cooking Oils, a trusted kitchen staple for nearly 90 years.

A Branded Cooling Station on Wheels

To beat the summer heat and create a memorable brand experience, AdTime Marketing partnered with the CTA to wrap an entire bus in Butcher Boy Cooking Oils branding, transforming it into a fully immersive cooling station for the day. The activation featured:

• Air-conditioned relief for parade-goers looking to escape the summer sun
• Phone charging stations, giving attendees a practical reason to stop by and stay a while
• Branded swag bags, distributed throughout the day to celebrate the Butcher Boy Cooking Oils brand and connect directly with the community

The response was overwhelmingly positive, with steady crowds stopping by the bus throughout the event to cool off, charge their devices, and pick up a bag of Butcher Boy goodies.

Why Community Activations Like This Matter

Events like the Bud Billiken Parade give brands a rare opportunity to meet their audience where they already are, in the middle of a beloved, decades-long Chicago tradition. For a legacy brand like Butcher Boy Cooking Oils, an in-person activation builds trust and visibility in a way that traditional advertising alone can’t replicate.

This is the kind of work we love most at AdTime Marketing: designing high-impact, community-first experiential campaigns that connect brands to real people in meaningful, memorable ways.