How Coors Light turned a broken digital ad into a viral sports marketing moment

This year, Coors and independent creative agency Rethink are being honored for their success in creating viral moments with speed – and a new kind of sports sponsorship – all from out-of-home advertising.

In the crowded field of sports marketing, brands often spend millions to get exposure. But in the summer of 2023, Coors Light found itself in a unique position with the opportunity to create an off-the-cuff advertising campaign that required no paid media money or a big check to secure the deal.

In fact, the moment that sparked one of the most memorable campaigns was completely unplanned. In late August of last year, a foul ball from baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani – who later played for the Los Angeles Angels – knocked out an LED module in the advertising sign at Citi Field. The result was an image of the signature silver Coors Light can – with a black box hovering over the brand logo.

Where other brands may have seen shame, Coors Chiedza and its agency, Rethink, saw opportunity. What followed was the birth of the ‘Lights Out’ campaign, a lesson in quick thinking and creative ability that turned the moment into a viral sensation.

Taking time to knock

Coors and Rethink wasted little time in jumping on the opportunity. “Shohei gave us rocket fuel for violating the declaration. We just wanted a spark,” says Rethink’s chief creative officer, Aaron Starkman. “If something cultural happens that fits your brand in a meaningful way, and is something that can be used by this brand, it’s good to do it.”

The team decided to focus more on the image of the moment – the broken pixels. Instead of putting Ohtani at the center of the campaign’s push, the black square became the focus of a campaign that included imperfection. “Shohei’s ball is bad, and the attention he received in the beginning, only helped us not to spend too much,” explained Starkman.

It was an unusual way. While many brands may have tried to minimize the event, especially without an official agreement from Ohtani, Coors Light chose a different approach. With a flexible, fast approach, an image of a black-decorated Coors Light can quickly flood social media feeds and be seen on billboards and on digital ads around Angel Stadium. Within 48 hours, Rethink had designed and launched a special-edition Coors Light can, with black sides where the pixels had appeared in the Citi Field ad.

Rethinking, reacting quickly to the moment fits into the philosophy of the organization. “At Rethink, we believe in a ‘go and grow’ approach, where we release something simple that encapsulates a ‘big idea,’ like a social space, and if it takes off, we start growing the idea with more execution. in different mediums.” In short, he explains, “Customers tell us everything we need to know in real time regarding development.”

The simplicity of the concept made it easy for Molson Coors to go ahead and make a killing without much research or decision making. In practice, the key was to avoid long meetings, according to Starkman. “This whole campaign happened because Molson Coors and Rethink are like a team,” he said. The teams communicated more through phone calls, group texts and Slack messages, allowing them to move at the speed needed to contain the virus.

Turning a black tick into a global phenomenon

The unconventional approach paid off in spades. The canned-edition sold out online in less than 24 hours. Fans in the US and Japan – Ohtani’s home country – embraced the campaign, adding black squares to their Coors Light cans and merchandise where special cans were sold. Even the original broken panel itself became a piece of memory, selling online for over $7,000. Meanwhile, social media coverage of the campaign shows 100% positive sentiment.

So why did the ‘Lights Out’ campaign resonate with audiences so much? In Starkman’s view, it’s simple: “Beer should be fun. At the end of the day, baseball fans saw the beer brand make light of a bad moment and laugh about it. ” By embracing what many brands would have considered a bad time, Coors Light came across as self-aware and playful, a quality that appealed to fans.

Another reason for the success of this campaign was its organic nature. Unlike other brands that spend millions to be seen during sporting events, the brand has stealthily sneaked its way into the conversation. Ohtani’s foul ball was unsupported, a random moment — yet Coors Light ended up higher than Budweiser, MLB’s beer campaign, during the height of the campaign.

In the end, the results of the campaign spoke for themselves. In addition to virally sold cans, Coors Light has successfully established itself as a beer brand that can keep up with today’s, fast-paced world of sports. And what started as an unscripted moment on the baseball field quickly turned into a global phenomenon, proving that even a broken marketing campaign can create a winning campaign.

As Starkman says, “You don’t need a big budget to do a good job.” Sometimes, all it takes is a foul ball and a broken light bulb.