Molson Coors Pours Millions into Super Bowl

In today’s edition of the Front Office Sports newsletter, we’re taking a look at a new opportunity for hopeful Super Bowl advertisers.

Long Time Coming

Molson Coors Beverage is returning to the Super Bowl for the first time in over 30 years.

Anheuser-Busch InBev?announced?in June that it would not renew its?exclusivity deal for Super Bowl LVII,?clearing the path for other alcohol brands to advertise during the Big Game for the first time in?33 years.?

Molson Coors is?planning?to run one 30-second spot, which went for around?$5.6 million?in this year’s game. In 2021, the company recorded annual sales growth for the first time in more than 10 years.

Next year will be the company’s first Super Bowl ad since it changed its name from?Molson Coors Brewing?and added hard seltzer, whiskey, and energy drinks to its product lineup. It hasn’t been completely absent from the Super Bowl, however.?

• This year,?Miller Lite?hosted a bar in the metaverse for the game.
• Last year, it?ran?an “ad” on YouTube to protest being shut out of the game.

Molson Coors already made NFL headlines Wednesday in a campaign featuring Kansas City Chiefs star?Patrick Mahomes. NFL players aren’t allowed to directly promote alcohol, so Coors advertised a flashlight called “The Coors Light.”

Super Bowl Beverages

After renewing its league deal for $250 million annually,?AB InBev?will continue to run Super Bowl ads.?Diageo, which purchased the NFL’s hard alcohol rights for a reported $30 million per year in 2021, and?E. & J. Gallo, the league’s official wine sponsor, will also get a chance to run ads.

Conversation Starters

• DAZN is in negotiations to acquire rival sports and entertainment media company Eleven Sports, according to a report by the Financial Times.
• Hear about the day’s most important business of sports stories in five minutes or less by listening to our daily podcast The Leadoff.
• The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating a group of British sports broadcasters regarding the purchase of freelance services.
• Hawaii Gov. David Ige recently signed off on a $400 million budget to construct a new stadium and entertainment district on the site of the condemned Aloha Stadium in Halawa.
• The U.S. attorney's office in Chicago has filed a lawsuit against the Cubs over recent Wrigley Field renovations.

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