Dive Brief:
- Jim Beam has enlisted “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson for a new campaign entitled “Refresh Your Season” designed to help keep things light during the often tense — and for most fans, disappointing — football playoff period, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- An ad featuring the actor debuted during Netflix’s livestream of an NFL game on Christmas Day. Thompson portrays a bartender who helps patrons understand that once their favorite team has been eliminated, they can freely enjoy the rest of the games.
- Additional campaign elements are set to launch in 2026 and will span TV, streaming, digital and geotargeted social elements, as well as a partnership with popular sports podcast “Bussin’ With The Boys.”
Dive Insight:
During the football playoffs, only one team’s fans will end the season with celebration. Jim Beam’s marketing strategy is to appeal to that larger group of fans for whom disappointment is inevitable.
The campaign is intended to celebrate the moments of connection and camaraderie in both victory and defeat, “showing fans that even when the score isn’t what you hoped for, there’s still plenty to celebrate,” said Regan Clarke, vice president of U.S brands, American Whiskey at Jim Beam parent Suntory Global Spirits, in a release.
In a 15-second spot, Thompson plays a bartender who is consoling fans after a big loss. As the fans grow despondent, lemons fall from the ceiling, filling up the bar. Attempting to cheer the fans by saying they will no longer have to be stressed during the playoffs, Thompson offers this advice: “When your team gives you lemons, make Jim Beam and lemonade.” The spot will be amplified through extensions in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, which is slated for Feb. 8.
“Refresh Your Season” builds on an effort Jim Beam launched last year timed around the Super Bowl. In that campaign, actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key is featured acting out skits based on how football fans respond when their favorite team loses. The marketing push also featured limited-edition care packages, called the 7 Stages of Defeat, in reference to the seven-year aging process of the Jim Beam Black brand. Those packages proved to be a hit, with the first drop selling out in three minutes and two subsequent drops selling out faster.
The latest effort from Jim Beam reinforces its push to expand the brand’s consumer base and versatility through an emphasis on areas including music and sports. Last month, the bourbon brand revealed that it would pause production at its Kentucky distillery in 2026, as alcohol consumption continues to decline in the U.S. The brand said it will use the pause to enhance the property, though its visitor center and bottling and warehousing units will remain up and running. Within the alcohol industry, bourbon in particular has fallen on challenging times.
