Coors Light has created painted billboards on top of dark-roofed buildings to lower temperatures and reduce energy use in the brand’s latest environmental marketing move.
The white signs, created by DDB, are called “chillboards” and have been painted on the roofs of apartments in Miami, a city that is raising awareness about heat amongs its residents as temperatures begin to spike with summer coming.
The campaign—which plays off the brand's "Made to Chill" tagline—is centered around reminding people about the environmentally-friendly “small things they can do to help everyone,” said Marcelo Pascoa, Coors’ global VP. Unlike with classic billboards by the roadside, people can’t see the painted chillboards. Instead, the brand is relying on word of mouth about the billboards and their cooling effect to raise awareness about a “surprising, fun way” people can help the environment.
The white paint is meant to reflect heat and help lower temperatures inside the buildings. One of the roofs tested had its temperature lowered by 50 degrees, according to the brand. From a bird’s eye view, the big bubble writing includes phrases such as “Chillboards help cut AC costs,” with the brand’s name in the lower right corner. The chillboards, which first went up April 16, will stay on the roofs until May 6, at which point the roofs will be painted completely white.
Coors is encouraging more white rooftops by giving away 5,000 gallons of reflective paint. It collaborated with Set Free Richardson, a creative director, and street artist Andulaz the Artist to make the chillboards.
The move comes after the brand invested almost $85 million to switch out the plastic rings in its six-packs for recyclable cardboard sleeves. According to Pascoa, the move to recyclable packaging is what made the brand feel “comfortable” to then start a conversation about what consumers can do.
“It’s not fair to try and have that conversation” if the brand hasn’t addressed its own detrimental effect on the environment, which Coors identified as its plastic packaging, said Pascoa.
Countless brands have boosted their environmental marketing in an attempt to appeal to Gen Z and millennial consumers, whom studies show value consciousness and social justice. Beer brands are being pushed to stay relevant with younger drinkers as they battle for market share with seltzers, hard liquor and ready-to-drink cocktails.
A similar move involving a sustainable billboard was also made by Heineken at the end of April. The brand created a billboard in Brazil that uses no light as part of its broader green energy project.
