In These 'Sucky' Times, Coors Light Is Offering Free Beers

Coors Light fans across the country owe a special thanks to Olive Veronesi, though you probably don't need to buy her a beer. After the 93-year-old Pennsylvanian was photographed holding up a sign that said, "I need more beer!" and her image quickly circulated the globe, Coors Light sent her 10 free cases. But her impact didn't end there. She's now motivated Coors Light and agency DDB to offer free beer for any American who deserves a six-pack. In a new spot that tosses aside talk of "these uncertain times," Coors Light instead acknowledges that these are, in fact, "sucky" times that call for a beer. [kickout id="1"] While most brands are going for a tone of solemn empathy in their quarantine-era advertising, Coors Light and DDB opted instead to be more frank and say that this period just sucks. "So many brands are trying to articulate how people are feeling, tugging on the heartstrings," said Britt Nolan, North American CCO for DDB. "What we found is that it's really hard to articulate how people are feeling right now. It just sucks. And it sucks differently for everybody." [kickout id="2"] The spot continues a long tradition of showing beer's role in great moments of U.S. history—the Revolutionary War, the Great Depression, etc.—but then gives the trope a fun twist by admitting that the beer really didn't contribute much beyond making things more tolerable. For example, the spot describes the end of Prohibition but stops short of crediting it with much beyond boosting American morale. "Did it solve anything? No, of course not," the ad says, "But it did help them press on." The creative team wasn't always certain the word "sucky," which in multiple variations makes up much of the spot's script, would end up in the final cut. But the client supported it, and some quick testing found it resonated well with Americans in quarantine. "We did spend some time thinking about what was the perfect word to describe what we're going through right now," Nolan said. [Brands are] all playing the same emotional note right now. But I think the thing you can't forget is that brands can be a social levity for people, especially beer. Beer should lighten the mood." The #CouldUseaBeer promotion encourages fans to nominate a friend or loved one who deserves a free 6-pack, and a unique code will be provided for the participant to give as a gift of sorts to the deserving friend. (Technically, yes, you can then use the code for yourself.) The promotion will max out once 500,000 beers have been given away. While DDB had been considering a similar campaign for a while, the creative team fully credits Veronesi's moment in the global social media spotlight as the spark that made it happen right now. [kickout id="3"] "When Coors decided to send her a bunch of cases of beers, the conversation it sparked was about all these people coming out saying who else could use a beer," Nolan said. "So the notion had been floating around, but people were ready to have this conversation." CREDITS: Client – Molson Coors Beverage Company Brand – Coors Light Client – Molson Coors Beverage Company Chief Marketing Officer – Michelle St. Jacques Marketing Director – Chris Steele Senior Marketing Manager – Liz Cramton Marketing Manager – Emily McCullough Brand Public Relations Manager – Rachel Dickens Associate Marketing Manager – Stephanie Donelson Senior Media Manager – Kelly Ellefson Associate Media Manager – Stephanie Feran Creative Agency – DDB Chief Creative Officer, Global – Ari Weiss Chief Creative Officer, North America – Britt Nolan Executive Creative Director – Colin Selikow Creative Director – Chris Walker Creative Director – Alan Shen Associate Creative Director – Dan LaVigne Copywriter – Joey Johnson Chief Production Officer – Diane Jackson SVP, Executive Producer – Matt Blitz Executive Producer – Keith Jamerson Executive Art Producer – Suzanne Koller Senior Producer – Susan Cartland Production Manager – Jillian English VP, Strategy Director – Matt Babazadeh Digital Director – Mike Norgard SVP, Group Account Director – Kiska Howell Account Director – Jonathan King Project Manager – Jen Polan Multicultural Creative Agency – Alma VP, Executive Creative Director – Jorge Murillo Associate Creative Director – Mauricio Mutis Senior Integrated Producer – Rafael Sánchez Group Account Director – Beatriz Del Amo Management Supervisor – Jose Hawayek Senior Account Executive – Stephanie Albrecht Director of Strategic Insights – Mauricio Cadena Senior Strategic Planner – Felipe Díaz-Arango Senior Project Manager – Yanuarys Lopez Postproduction – Elastic Creative Directors – Angus Wall & Lisa Bolan Designer – Erika Bird Animators – Lindsay Leonard, Chad Danieley, Jon Taylor, Chavilah Bennett, Mark Feldman, Tnaya Witmer Online Editor – Andrew Young Flame Assist – Sam Kolber Coordinator – Megan Rodriguez Producer – Kevin Daly Executive Producer – Luke Colson Head of Production – Kate Berry Managing Director – Jennifer Sofio Hall Editorial – Rock Paper Scissors Editor – Zoe Mougin Assistant Editor – Evan Ostrow Producer – Sasha Grubor Head of Production – Dre Krichevsky Executive Producer – Shada Shariatzdeh Managing Director – Eve Kornblum Audio – Lime Studios Audio Engineer – Rohan Young Music – KOM Composer – Phillip Kay Producer – Andy Oskwarek Media Agency – Connect PR Agency – ICF

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In These 'Sucky' Times, Coors Light Is Now Offering Free Beers

Nominations via #CouldUseABeer will earn a free 6-pack via new campaign from DDB

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