USA TODAY NETWORK; Mark Giannotto; 28-07-2024
“Brewed Here” is a 15-second spot Michelob Ultra debuted recently to introduce itself as the exclusive beer sponsor of Team USA this year, part of an international campaign attached to a greater shift playing out simultaneously within both the Olympic movement and the beer industry at the 2024 Paris Games.
Global brewing giant AB InBev, which owns brands like Budweiser, Modelo, Corona and Michelob, this year became the first beer brand to sign with the International Olympic Committee’s TOP sponsorship program. And it’s betting big – perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars – on low-calorie and non-alcoholic beers, with an eye on consumer trends and even more lucrative circumstances when the Summer Olympics return to Los Angeles in 2028.
Corona Cero, a non-alcoholic offering launched in Europe two years ago, has been dubbed the “global beer sponsor of the Olympics” in Paris. Michelob Ultra, a low-calorie and low-carb option traditionally aimed at health-conscious drinkers, added Team USA to its growing sports marketing portfolio.
It comes in the aftermath of reports last year that revealed the lowest consumption of beer in the United States since 1999. But no alcohol or low alcohol beer sales continued to be a low-volume, high-growth sector for the industry. Michelob ULTRA, for instance, moved past Bud Light earlier this month to No. 2 in U.S. beer sales and market share for the first time.
“This is a new chapter in beer marketing,” University of Oregon marketing professor Bettina Cornwell said.
2024 Paris Olympics and its bottles will feature the Olympic rings
as part of the sponsorship campaign.
Olympics officials and sports business experts, meanwhile, are expecting a recovery – both financially and in terms of viewership – from consecutive Games impacted by bloated costs, the pandemic, the time zone disparity between the rest of the world and recent Asia-based hosts, and a steady stream of doping, political and sports washing scandals.
Though official figures for AB InBev’s deal with the IOC weren’t released, reported estimates of previous international Olympic sponsorship agreements range from $200 to $400 million during a four-year Olympic cycle.
“There’s a reason brands invest this much money,” Cornwell said. “It’s because they can reach a global market with an emotional appeal and an opportunity that just doesn’t come with every sponsorship.”
For Michelob Ultra, the Olympics provide a platform to showcase its already entrenched and successful marketing strategy built around sports to a broader audience. This includes countries that highly regulate or don’t otherwise allow alcohol-rated advertising tied to sporting events, such as France. It already produced a Super Bowl ad this year featuring international soccer star Lionel Messi, Miami Dolphins great Dan Marino and actor Jason Sudeikis of “Ted Lasso.” The commercial finished 20th in the USA TODAY Ad Meter ratings out of 59 eligible ads in the Super Bowl’s national block.
“The Olympics brings millions of fans together to celebrate sport,” Ricardo Marques, Michelob Ultra’s vice president of marketing, wrote in an email. “As a beer brand that champions living an active lifestyle, we’re uniquely positioned to be part of those celebrations, increase the brand’s visibility and remind fans everywhere of our brand’s point of view on such an incredible stage.”
Michelob Ultra will promote a collection of “Team ULTRA athletes” representing the United States at the 2024 Games, led by WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu, in social media content and special appearances throughout the Olympics. There’s also new Olympic-themed packaging, a watch party scheduled for Rockefeller Center in New York and a presence at the Team USA House in Paris in conjunction with the campaign.
A new 30-second ad titled, “Home Team,” with various Team USA athletes competing and celebrating will debut during the Opening Ceremony Friday night and be featured throughout the Olympics. In addition, Michelob Ultra will be the first brand to participate in the Order of Ikkos Ceremony, created in 2008 for American Olympic medal winners to present a medal to a coach, mentor or influential figure.
This is, in so many ways, emblematic of the pivotal moment confronting the entire Olympic movement as these 2024 Paris Games begin. The Olympics – and beer – remain viable domestically and internationally. But the dynamics and conventions driving their relevance are changing, and these two institutions are attempting to modernize along with them – together, as timing would have it.