Coors Light saw Shohei Ohtani launch a home run, and in true Rocky Mountain style, turned it into a multi-million dollar marketing idea. The message? “Ohtani hits bombs, and our beer goes down just as smooth!” They didn’t miss a beat—quick, reactive, and, let’s face it, brilliantly simple. One swing, and they hit the marketing jackpot, no controversy in sight.
Meanwhile, over at Budweiser HQ, someone was like, “You know what would really sell more beer? A lightning rod of controversy!” Cue their now-infamous campaign featuring a transgender influencer that, well… didn’t exactly go as planned. Instead of scoring a home run with progressive audiences, they alienated a big chunk of their core fan base. It’s like Budweiser stepped up to the plate, tried to bunt, and accidentally threw the bat into the stands.
Coors Light’s Playbook: React fast to an undeniable moment of sports greatness, build around something that unites people—like their love for Ohtani and cold beer. No risks, just pure gold (or in this case, ice-cold silver cans).
Budweiser’s Playbook: Take a polarizing topic, run a full campaign, and hope people are on board. Turns out, when your main demographic enjoys NASCAR and country music, they’re not thrilled about being lectured on gender politics. Bud aimed for social progress and ended up getting dunked on in the culture war.
Result? Coors Light gets to chill on a mountain of cash while Budweiser is left trying to figure out why their latest keg party turned into a PR disaster.
Moral of the Story? Ohtani can unite beer drinkers with his bat, but mixing beer and polarizing debates? Not so much. Coors hit the home run—Bud? Well, let’s just say they’re still out there looking for the ball.
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