Beer giant Molson Coors is barreling into brunch drinking occasions with its new Vizzy Mimosa Hard Seltzer—and is using drag queens to help spread the word.
The brewer is plugging the daytime-oriented line extension of the two-year-old seltzer brand with a campaign called “Iz a vibe,” with ads featuring a colorful backyard pool party and a springtime brunch. The brunch spot stars Taina Norell, a drag queen from Miami.
The campaign comes from independent Canadian-based agency Rethink, which recently assumed lead agency duties on Vizzy. The shop, which had handled previous assignments for Molson Coors, including in Canada, recently opened a U.S. office. Vizzy’s last lead agency was Johannes Leonardo, which handled the brand’s launch campaign but has not been active on the account recently.
While the hard seltzer category has cooled after stratospheric growth in the segment’s early days in 2019 and 2020, Vizzy has been able to maintain momentum and is a bright spot for Molson Coors. During an earnings call last week, Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley boasted that of all the hard seltzer franchises, “Vizzy is the only one that has existed for multiple years and has never lost hard seltzer share in a quarter.”
With the canned mimosa extension, the brand is seeking to continue the momentum by edging into occasions more associated with bartender-mixed cocktails like bloody marys and classic mimosas. The drink, housed in 12-ounce slim cans, comes in flavors including strawberry orange, pineapple orange, peach orange and pomegranate orange. While it includes real orange juice, the drink does not contain Champagne and is instead promoted as being “mimosa-inspired.” Like regular Vizzy, the line extension includes acerola cherry, a “superfruit” high in the antioxidant vitamin C.
The media buy for the new campaign includes TV programming during March Madness and “Saturday Night Live,” as well as shows on E, Food Network, MTV and Bravo. The plan also includes radio, digital video, podcasts, paid and organic social media, influencer marketing and retail marketing.
Vizzy is also staging a brunch event in Los Angeles on March 19 that will include performances by drag superstars Morgan McMichaels, Foxie Adjuia and Honey Davenport.
With the campaign, “we’re taking these seemingly ordinary situations in the campaign, and making them shimmer with a touch of the unexpected,” Liz Cramton, director of marketing for Vizzy Hard Seltzer, said in a statement.
Vizzy Mimosa might not be the last orange juice-alcohol product from Molson Coors. The company recently struck a deal with Coca-Cola Co. to use its Simply brand—which is best known for juice—for a new line of Simply Spiked Lemonade canned drinks. While the initial lineup does not include orange juice, Molson seems intent on growing the brand. “You can expect more from us in the future,” Chief Marketing Officer Michelle St. Jacques recently told Beer Business Daily.
