In the end, you can’t forget about craft beer.
Molson Coors, which has worked to generate consumer interest in its return to Super Bowl advertising after more than three decades away from the Big Game, raised some eyebrows with an ad in the second quarter that squeezed in a mention of its Blue Moon beer after spending weeks making consumers think the company was mulling a battle between its two flagship brands, Coors Light and Miller Lite.
“It has such an iconic visual — the orange garnish, the beautiful draft beer, Even with two seconds, I think people are going to see it at the end, and it’s going to make them want to grab a Blue Moon,” says Michelle St. Jacques, chief marketing officer of Molson Coors, in an interview Sunday afternoon a little more than an hour before Super Bowl kickoff.
Molson Coors is making the most of a single Super Bowl spot, using a storyline to generate interest in many of its brews, even as rival Anheuser-Busch InBev bought an array of spots for brands that ranged from Michelob Ultra to Busch Light to Bud Light. Weeks before the game, the company took out a full-page ad in The New York Times implying it was mulling whether to devote more time to one of its two biggest brands, Coors Light or Miller Lite. Then, it struck a partnership with DraftKings to let consumers wager on the outcome.
And the company isn’t following the usual Super Bowl ad formula, It did not release its commercial ahead of time, and it isn’t betting on a glut of celebrity cameos to generate attention.
Behind the scenes, says St, Jacques, executives considered eight different potential endings for its commercial, including nods to Banquet and Fosters.
But the company could not ignore the fact that Blue Moon has great penetration at bars and is one of the nation’s leading purchases “on premise.” “I can guarantee you, in most bars, in most restaurants, if people see this ad and they want a Blue Moon, I am sure the bartender will be happy to oblige,” says St. Jacques.
