Entrant Company
Rethink & Droga5
Entry Type
Product/Service
Medium
Experience/Activation
Coors Light is not an official NFL sponsor which makes it challenging to penetrate the league's marketing landscape due to strict sponsorship rules and exorbitant costs. However, a serendipitous moment during a nationally televised game provided an unexpected opportunity. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, while calling a play, audibly shouted "Coors Light, Coors Light!" The broadcast picked it up, the announcers repeated it, and the internet went wild.
Recognizing the potential, within 24 hours, we launched a reactive social media post on Coors Lights owned channels. This snowballed into a full 360-degree campaign within a week, perfectly timed for a Steelers Monday Night Football game. The campaign was composed of: digital out-of-home ads targeted around the stadium, on-premise activations, limited-edition “Coors Light, Coors Light!” cans, and even re-editing the brand's Monday Night Football commercial to include the viral call.
The campaign's impact was substantial; earning over 199 million in earned media impressions which resulted in 100% positive sentiment, and a 21x increase in Coors Light brand mentions, surpassing the official NFL beer sponsor.The most impressive part, the campaign successfully circumvented NFL sponsorship restrictions resulting in zero lawsuits.
By capitalizing on a spontaneous moment and creatively leveraging it, Coors Light became the unofficial beer of football, demonstrating the power of reactive marketing and integrated campaigns.