Ok, Just Shill Me – Brief Article
Mike Beirne
Coors Taps Spade, Foxx, Ex-athletes
Tweaking an ad formula that increased shipments almost 4% last year, Adolph Coors will continue to target young men and will go after the African American market with new celebrity pitchmen David Spade and Jamie Foxx.
“I’m really impressed with what I heard,” said one distribution. “The 21-29 male is the top beer drinking target, and they are really going after them, especially with Original Coors. With ESPN as its largest buy, they’ll find that guy and bring him in.”
Spade carries his smart-aleck persona to the tavern in four Coors Light spots. Spade, of SNL and Just Shoot Me fame, can’t get a beer either due to crowds or because he’s simply ignored. When he does get his order, the glass is empty.
Coors veers toward African American consumers–a weak demo in its portfolio–with Jamie Foxx, star of Ali and his eponymous TV show. Spots feature Foxx at nightclubs and hanging out with friends at home, “Chilling With Coors Light.” The brand will tie in to Foxx’s Laugh-a-Palooza college comedy tour and use him on POP materials touting a sweepstakes where winners can join him in Miami for a cruise party.
Coors will also update last year’s “Be Original” campaign, via FCB, Chicago, featuring retired athletes, with new faces like Barry Sanders, Yogi Berra, Magic Johnson, Hank Aaron and familiar ones like Gordie Howe. The format maintains the telling of sports feats by broadcasters Dan Patrick and Ahmad Rashad and tries to make them funnier.
Johnson, who regularly registered triple doubles during his basketball days, holds a sixpack of Original Coors and says, “Here’s the real triple double.” Sanders, who can squat 600 pounds and run with two linebackers on his back, is shown with a couple of cases under tow and the message “Lift Again.”
The Coors Light “Beer Man” spots, which drew ire from distributors for showing older, overweight vendors, apparently will be on lighter rotation since only a couple such ads were previewed during the wholesalers convention in New Orleans last week.
Coors’ summer store program brings back the ATM card in-pack promotion in 12, 18 and 24 packs which last year generated more than 9 million calls from consumers checking to see if they had a winning number.
The promo kicks off in May with “All the Millions” boasting a $1 million winner every week as well as smaller cash prizes.
The program converts to “All The Miles” through July 4, giving away 10,000 travel certificates good for $300 worth of travel on any airline and a grand prize: 15 hours of travel to anywhere on a private jet. “Music” runs through the end of July offering music certificates redeemable at Sam Goody and Best Buy stores.
With competition from rival Anheuser-Busch’s new Killarney red beer, Coors will scrap the “One Look Says a Lot” campaign for its Killian’s Red, and focus on the lager’s Irish heritage and its namesake, George Killian.
Keystone, which spent $6 million on media the past two years, will pair with wrestler Bob Goldberg and World Championship Wrestling.
Keystone POP will also sport Brande Roderick of Baywatch and tout sweeps dangling a Keystone speed boat.
COPYRIGHT 2001 BPI Communications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
