Coors Light was struggling to resonate with younger, more urban drinkers who couldn’t relate to the brand’s outdoorsy, Rocky Mountain heritage. So we created a campaign that re-introduced non-Coloradans to the beauty, adventure, and unstoppable spirit of the world’s most refreshing place and showed them how Coors Light could connect their everyday drinking experiences back to the Rocky Mountains.
The campaign was very nearly produced and ultimately ended up a footnote in a longer story where my agency blew over ten million dollars on a different campaign, lost MillerCoors as a client, fired almost all their employees, and almost shut down for good. It’s fun, ask me about it sometime!
The videos below are the boardamatics I personally edited together from our storyboard artist’s static frames to help sell the campaign to the client and focus groups.
password = buffalo
“BUFFALO”
Open on a gorgeous Rocky Mountain scene.
MUSIC: A thundering beat, scored to the action.
We hear a rumble as a thundering herd of buffalo stampede into frame.
The ground shakes underneath their powerful hooves and ice falls from the mountainside, narrowly missing one of the buffalo as it presses on, undeterred. Snow flies from trees as the mountains seem to tremble around the fearless herd. The shot widens, revealing in the background majestic snowcapped mountains.
The camera pulls off the mountains on the label of a Coors Light bottle as the music cuts out for a beat to reveal an excited group of men and women pounding on a bar top with their fists, channeling the spirit and determination of the thundering buffalo. The music cuts back in, exactly where it left off.
VO: Unleash the spirit of the Rockies.
The energetic group is sitting in front of a big screen TV at a bar, anticipating the kickoff to start overtime. The pounding on the bar top reaches thunderous levels as the returner catches the ball, the crowd goes quiet for a beat as the returner crosses the 10-yard line, then the entire bar erupts into cheers as the team returns the kickoff for a game-winning touchdown.
SUPER: Coors Light. The World’s Most Refreshing Beer.
Everyone raises a Coors Light in celebration.
password = rapids
“RAPIDS”
Open on a gorgeous Rocky Mountain scene.
MUSIC: A falling guitar hook, scored to the action.
Cut to a first-person view (think a GoPro camera), floating steadily down a rushing Colorado river. We hang at the top of a waterfall, and after a quick beat, go right over the edge.
We descend into the raging river below the waterfall, bouncing freely from rapid to rapid, narrowly avoiding the dangerous rocks that lie ahead. The raging water splashes the screen with each bounce, thoroughly drenching our view. At the end of the river it begins to calm, the rolling waves crashing smoothly against some rocks. The shot widens, revealing in the background majestic snowcapped mountains.
The camera pulls off the mountains on the label of a Coors Light bottle as the music cuts out for a beat to reveal a guy rolling across outstretched hands, crowdsurfing in the spirit of the flowing river. The music cuts back in, exactly where it left off.
VO: Unleash the spirit of the Rockies.
We’re at anoutdoor music festival and the guy has a bottle of Coors Light in one hand, drifts along on a journey from the back of the crowd to the stage. The band rocks on in the background as everyone around the crowdsurfing guy sings along, raising their Coors Lights into the night air.
SUPER: Coors Light. The World’s Most Refreshing Beer.
Everyone raises a Coors Light in celebration.
My roles:
Concept | Copywriting | Visual Direction | Editing
Despite the fact that it tested very well with both the client and focus groups, the spots were ultimately shelved in favor of our CCO’s own campaign that ended up making headlines in its own right. It was actually a pretty interesting experience to witness first-hand, but it was over in a flash because not four months later Coors Light took their entire portfolio of business to another agency and I followed shortly thereafter. It was all a great learning experience – mostly lessons in what not to do.