Corona Extra’s marketing is getting a new cast, tone and perhaps creative agency.
Constellation Brands has launched a creative review for its Corona Extra brand, according to multiple people close to the situation.
MullenLowe West currently handles the account. The potential change comes as Corona Extra’s long-running “La Vida Mas Fina” campaign approaches a shift in cast and tone.
“We regularly assess capabilities of current and potential creative partners in an effort to ensure we’re best positioning our business and brands to win with consumers in an ever-evolving landscape,” the brand shared in a statement. “We value our relationships with agency partners across our portfolio and will continue working together to drive our brands to the center of culture.”
Brand flagship Corona Extra and Corona Light are part of the review, sources said. Corona Premier, the low-carb light beer meant to compete with Anheuser-Bush InBev’s Michelob Ultra, is not part of the review. That brand is getting a new push this year from the newly merged agency BarkleyOKRP.
Corona Extra confirmed earlier this year that Snoop Dogg, the lead character in its “La Vida Mas Fina” campaign, was departing after three years and actor Pedro Pascal would succeed him. Corona’s message in the meantime is pivoting from one of Snoop-like chill to a more vibrant take on the brand’s Hispanic roots and multicultural appeal. New ads starring Pascal are set to debut this month.
More: Snoop Dogg’s next marketing act? A college bowl game
Constellation has projected that by 2030, 20% of the legal drinking-age population in the U.S., or around 50 million drinkers, will be Hispanic.
“For Corona, the modern Latino is a changing demographic, ambi-cultural and moving fluidly through both English and Spanish-speaking worlds,” Saúl Trejo, director of brand marketing at Corona, told Ad Age earlier this year. “It’s the recognition that Hispanics continue to redefine what mainstream means, influencing food, music and culture in the U.S. We share the same heritage and La Vida Más Fina serves as an expression of our intentional optimism and proud Hispanic roots.”
The marketing review at Corona follows marketing leadership appointments at Constellation. In December, Matt Lindsay was promoted to senior VP and chief marketing officer of its beer division. Lindsay had been senior VP of brand marketing, a role now handled by Greg Gallagher, who moved up from VP of brand marketing at Corona’s fast-growing sibling brand, Modelo.
Corona Extra was the sixth largest-selling beer in the U.S. in 2023 with a market share of 4.6%, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights, which ranks brands based on shipments to wholesalers. While Corona barrels shipped dropped by 2.2% last year, it outperformed the industry’s 5.2% decrease. As a result, Corona’s market share increased by 0.1% on the year.
Ad spending behind the Corona brand decreased to $151 million in 2023 from $170 million in 2022, according to Vivvix including paid social from Pathmatics.
MullenLowe West, which also handles clients such as Acura, Grey Goose, Patron, Hawaiian Airlines and Ghirardelli, recently underwent leadership changes. Jenn Wong, SoundCloud’s former head of global marketing, was appointed as its new president. The office’s co-executive creative directors also departed from their roles.
