Logo

Anheuser-Busch Oudbids Coors to Be Official Beer of the NFL

May 4, 2010  •  Post A Comment

Jeremy Mullman
Advertising Age

Anheuser-Busch has apparently outbid MillerCoors to be the National Football League’s official beer sponsor.

In a memo to its wholesalers today, MillerCoors said the "NFL is a great partner, and we talked extensively with them about the future, but ultimately could not reach agreement about the value of the league sponsorship."

Coors Light has been the NFL’s official beer since 2002, and the platform is often cited by distributors as a key cog in the brand’s category-best sales trends during the past five years.

Coors Light re-upped with the NFL in 2005, with a reported five-year, $500 million agreement that runs through the 2010 season. It was widely expected the brewer would renew, but apparently A-B made an aggressive push that led to what MillerCoors’ press release described as a "bidding war" for the sponsorship.

An A-B spokesman didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment, and neither the brewer nor the NFL has confirmed that they have a deal yet.

In recent years, the brand’s "press conference" ads starring retired NFL coaches became so ubiquitous during NFL broadcasts that they wound up inspiring a legion of YouTube parodies. But those spots are unlikely to outlive the 2010 NFL season, which will be the last one where Coors Light is allowed to use the NFL’s official marks and logos.

While A-B has been the longstanding beer sponsor of the Super Bowl broadcast, it’s had to find ways to create football-centric creative without the benefit of an official sponsorship during the season. A-B’s football campaign last year for Bud Light centered around a shopping-channel host who showed off "tailgate approved" items, such as a hybrid grill and beer cooler called a "Grooler."

The new sponsorship wouldn’t be without significant risk for A-B, and not only because the price was apparently too rich for MillerCoors. The deal begins in 2011, and the NFL’s owners and players have yet to agree on terms of a new collective-bargaining agreement for that season yet, meaning there’s a chance that all or part of the campaign could be lost to a work stoppage.

But A-B apparently deemed that risk acceptable, given that the NFL is widely considered sports’ best beer-selling platform. Bud Light could certainly use all the help it can get: It remains the largest beer brand in the U.S. by a significant margin, but it suffered through its first negative sales year in 2009 and its results haven’t markedly improved since.

Beginning in 2011, getting by without the official NFL deal becomes Coors Light’s problem. "It’s disappointing to lose it," said one major-market MillerCoors distributor. "In recent years, we’ve really seen Coors Light’s numbers spike during football season. Now they’re going to have to figure out a way to keep that momentum going without the NFL."#

42 Comments

  1. Awesome site…

  2. Thanks for your visiting this http://www.watchau.com online store.

  3. Thanks for your visiting this http://www.glamour-watches.com/replica-pens online store.

  4. I guess people just don’t get it..

  5. Lindsay Lohan really isn’t going any where that should prevent her from her acting, so yet again, I call BS on the serious in depth inpatient rehabilitation junk. There is no way Lindsay Lohan or her mother will lose this opportunity to make bucks. And patently she does not hate that scram band quite enough to give up the jack and coke and sacrifice stuffing sh*t up her foul nose.

  6. Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.

  7. Sky news get a little obsessive on feasible terrorism in The european countries, but strangl quiet on an “Realistic” bomb in derry.!!!.!

  8. Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.

  9. Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.

  10. High quality info here! Keep up the great work. I love the feelings being expressed.

  11. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  12. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  13. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  14. This is the best blog I’ve ever seen in my life! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your this with everyone.

  15. I love the way you write and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this yourself or was it done by a professional? I’m very very impressed.

  16. This is good info! Where else can if ind out more?? Who runs this joint too? Keep up the good work 🙂

  17. Neat blog layout! Very easy on the eyes.. i like the colors you picked out

  18. I enjoyed reading it. I require to read more on this matter…I am admiring the time and effort you put in your blog, because it is plainly one great place where I can find lot of useable info..

  19. should know by now, your writing goes to the nitty-gritty of the subject. Your lucidity leaves me wanting to know more. Just so understand, i’ll instantly grab your feed to keep up as of yet together with your weblog. Stating thank you is simply my little way stating what a masterpiece for a grand resource. Allow In my nicest needs for your incoming post.

  20. Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here 🙂

  21. You make blogging look like a walk in the park! I’ve been trying to blog daily but I just cant find writing material.. you’re an inspiration to me and i’m sure many others!

  22. Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here 🙂

  23. Love all the opinions expressed here! How is everyone? Love how everyone expresses whatr they feel 🙂

  24. Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

  25. Great blog!! You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned 🙂

  26. Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

  27. I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

  28. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  29. I like your blog.

  30. Greetings. First of all – beautiful blog! Secondly this article was also good and interesting to read, but I don’t think everything you have said is how it is in reality. I will need to google about few things you have mentioned in your artcile to make sure. But anyway thanks for the great effort and good luck on writing other articles. P.S sorry for bad English, I aren’t English native speaker.

  31. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

  32. Love all the opinions expressed here! How is everyone? Love how everyone expresses whatr they feel 🙂

  33. Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

  34. Assange being charged with espionage by the America WTF?. nona.

  35. Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

  36. Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here 🙂

  37. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  38. Insightful points=D Will take a bit of time to entertain your info.

  39. Hey, really enjoyed this post! Shed light on a few things I didn’t understand. Thank you.

  40. Hey how are you doing? I just wanted to stop by and say that it’s been a pleasure reading your blog. I have bookmarked your website so that I can come back & read more in the future as well. plz do keep up the quality writing

  41. I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

  42. What advice do you have for an aspiring blogger? radical article. Thank u.

    http://www.clairestamant.com/2012/07/brian-timpone-is-killing-journalism/

Leave a Reply to Loyce Federgreen Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)