How Coors Light turned its viral NFL moment into a campaign

The language of the quarterback at the line of scrimmage—a percussive series of numbers, colors and other barked signals—now has its own beer. In a game against New York Jets on Oct. 20, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson was heard calling “Coors Light, Coors Light” at the line of scrimmage. @espn This #Russ audible 😭 (📺 NBC) #russellwilson #nfl #coorslight #funny ♬ original sound - ESPN The audible, picked up clearly by NBC microphones, is thought to have indicated corners (for Coors) and left (for Light), but the team didn’t clarify. Coors Light heard it loud and clear. The Molson Coors-owned beer, along with agencies Droga5 and Rethink with help from Phaedon, quickly whipped up a suite of creative activations in time for tonight’s “Monday Night Football” game between the Steelers and Giants on ABC and ESPN. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The work includes refreshing an existing TV ad called “Glitch,” inserting the “Coors Light, Coors Light” line into a football game watched by patrons in a bar, and changing the end card. A new out-of-home ad shows a Coors Light can with two logos on the front, as though the name of the product were named “Coors Light, Coors Light.” These will be part of a “surprise takeover” planned for Pittsburgh. Marcelo Proenca Pascoa, VP of marketing for Coors brands, said the moment was a special one for Coors Light because “we hadn’t asked for it.” The brand has no marketing relationship with Wilson or the Steelers. Competitor Bud Light sponsors the team. Coors Light is slated to return to the Super Bowl in 2025. “If it was Patrick Mahomes, I would have understood,” Pascoa said, referring to the famed Kansas City quarterback who’s a well-known Coors Light supporter. “It’s the kind of stuff that even if we wanted to pay for it, we wouldn’t be able to, because it’s not for sale. So if it happens organically, it’s a gift from the gods.” Pascoa said he started receiving messages almost as soon as the play took place and involved Droga5 and Rethink from the start. Within a day of the call, Coors Light posted on social media, featuring a can with its name appearing twice. Bell said the commercial was recut in about a day as well. The reactive marketing recalls how Coors Light and Rethink swiftly moved to capitalize on a freak baseball event last year, making a commemorative can that resembled a Citi Field Coors Light digital billboard damaged by a line drive by Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers superstar who at the time played for the Angels. “You just gotta move at lightning speed in moments like this,” said Aaron Starkman, Rethink’s global chief creative officer, reflecting on the lessons of the Ohtani campaign. “Because consumers have such a short attention span and a short memory that you really need to put gasoline on the fire right away—and keep adding gas.” Starkman said one lesson learned from the Ohtani event was to cut out lengthy meetings and conduct business entirely on Slack and text, as well as over phone calls. “Since Ohtani last year, we’ve been asking people to actively look for moments in culture that can be ownable, like only Coors Light can do, but you never think lightning is going to strike twice,” Starkman said.

How Coors Light turned its viral NFL moment into a campaign

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