Anheuser-Busch InBev’s vacating its alcohol category advertising exclusivity arrangement for the Super Bowl LVII national broadcast has opened the door for its next largest rival to air a commercial during the big game.
Molson Coors will invest in national advertising during Super Bowl LVII, making it the first brewer other than A-B to run an official commercial during the broadcast in more than 30 years.
“Since 1989, there’s only been one official beer advertiser during the Super Bowl, and honestly, that’s no fun,” Molson Coors CMO Michelle St. Jacques said in a press release. “After more than 30 years away, you can bet our brands are going to bring it this year. Game on.”
Super Bowl LVII is scheduled for February 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and will be broadcast nationwide on Fox. A-B announced last month that it was forgoing the exclusivity agreement it has long struck with the networks that carry the game.
Other bev-alc producers have circumvented A-B’s exclusive rights to the national broadcast with regional ad buys, including Molson Coors, Heineken USA, Boston Beer and Spoetzl Brewery. A-B’s competitors’ ability to find alternative routes onto the broadcast via regional ads or digital and social advertising have chipped away at the value of the exclusivity arrangement.
“After years of finding creative ways for our brands to gain share of voice during the game, we’re proud to be the first new major brewer to sign on as an official Super Bowl LVII advertiser,” St. Jacques said.
Molson Coors’ Super Bowl-adjacent marketing activations in recent years have included a Miller Lite-branded bar in the metaverse last year and a print ad in the New York Times in 2020 that offered consumers the chance to win a 6-pack by typing the world’s longest URL into a browser.
Last year, Coors Light tapped into drinkers’ subconscious with its “Big Game Commercial of Your Dreams” campaign.
Miller Lite and Coors Light have struck team-level sponsorship deals and partnerships with past and former NFL players. In addition, the company’s marketing and advertising work was recognized at the Effie Awards, which named Molson Coors the No. 3 most effective marketer of the year. This week, the company released a campaign with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes promoting Coors Light flashlights, skirting the NFL’s policy prohibiting active players from endorsing beer brands.
Elevating Molson Coors’ work to advertising’s highest level with a Super Bowl ad “comes at a time when momentum behind our biggest brands – and our newest big bets – is stronger than it’s been in years, and we’re committed to investing behind them on the largest national stage there is,” St. Jacques said in the release.
Molson Coors, the country’s second-largest beer manufacturer, “is outperforming nearly every other major brewer over the most-recent 13-week period in terms of industry share gains in the U.S.,” according to the company, citing data from market research firm IRI through July 3.
“Coors Light and Miller Lite have booked their strongest combined performance in years,” Molson Coors wrote in the release. “Newer brands, meanwhile, including Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked, are each off to rollicking starts, gobbling up share in their respective segments and helping Molson Coors establish itself as this year’s No. 1 dollar share gainer in the flavored alcohol space, data show.”
Molson Coors did not specify which brands will make their Super Bowl debut next year, but an image accompanying its announcement included Blue Moon, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Vizzy Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked.
Year-to-date through June 12, Molson Coors off-premise dollar sales at multi-outlet food and convenience stores reached $3.325 billion, marking a -3.4% decline compared to the same period last year, according to IRI.