Dive Brief:
- Coors Banquet has partnered with Wrangler and country artist Chase Rice on a pair of novelty jeans that are supported by a full-funnel media plan and fan contest, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The Beer Chords jeans are emblazoned with musical chords from Rice’s new single “Connie Lou,” with the pattern achieved using ink infused with Coors Banquet beer. The chorus to the song explicitly references both brands.
- Ads on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Pandora and country radio will raise awareness for the concurrent release of the product and “Connie Lou.” The Beer Chords are the centerpiece of a larger Wrangler and Coors Banquet limited-edition collection — the companies’ third — that tries to appeal to young country music listeners.
Dive Insight:
Getting beer on a pair of jeans can be a nuisance, but not in the case of Coors Banquet’s latest tie up with Wrangler. The Beer Chords serve double duty as a bit of wearable novelty gear and a unique way to premiere “Connie Lou,” a song that weaves both brands into a story of a woman who becomes smitten and starts a life with a classic country cowboy.
“Connie fell for a felt hat and Wranglers / On that Friday sippin’ Coors Banquets / He was the Cool Hand Luke of western Wyoming / She was the belle of the dance hall,” the chorus to “Connie Lou” goes.
Along with the brand elements, the tune was inspired by how Rice’s parents met, as well as Western romances, according to a press release. Rice also appears performing the song in videos attached to the campaign.
The Beer Chords push is aligned with the Molson Coors label’s larger “Start Your Legacy” platform that encourages consumers to participate in cultural moments. To that end, the brewer is running a contest where an up-and-coming musician will have the chance to perform live with Rice. Details on the Connie Lou Cover Contest will be shared on Coors Banquet’s social channels.
Coors Banquet wants to realize a deeper integration than typical limited brand merchandise drops and build on its prior work with Wrangler, which has driven strong engagement and sales. The latest Wrangler and Coors Banquet collection spans 32 co-branded pieces, including denim jackets, printed vests, graphic T-shirts and hats, that mix rusticism with music festival-ready styling. It will be available at Coors’ online shop starting May 28 while supplies last.
Coors Banquet emphasized that it does not want to shake up its image to better appeal to Gen Z consumers, as other food and beverage brands have done, but rather double down on Western, fashion and musical motifs that have helped define its over century-old heritage. Agency TBWA\Chiat\Day\Chicago is behind the creative, with support from Omnicom Production, Zeno Group and Connect at Publicis Media.
Coors Banquet has been ramping up other cowboy-themed marketing of late. The beer is closely tied to the “Yellowstone” TV empire and earlier this month released a spur strap equipped with a bottle opener for the debut of the “Dutton Ranch” spinoff. Elsewhere, the brand recently began reinvesting in national sports advertising following a five-year hiatus to support “Start Your Legacy."
Coors Banquet has continued to see momentum while some of its sister brands, namely Miller Lite, encounter headwinds in the U.S. Parent Molson Coors grew net sales 2% in Q1 while brand volumes slid 3.1% for the period. The company last fall saw the departure of chief commercial officer and former marketing chief Michelle St. Jacques as part of a larger executive shuffle under new CEO Rahul Goyal.
