Molson Coors is foregoing the usual approach to Super Bowl advertising with its Coors Light brand, opting to plant its spot directly in consumers’ dreams, instead of on TV.
“When you look at Coors Light, we’re all about providing people with moments of chill in a world that’s always on,” explains Garrick Frittelli, senior brand manager for Coors. “Traditional Super Bowl spots are usually the opposite of chill – they’re all about which brands can yell the loudest, with over-the-top production that interrupts the game in a really aggressive way. Our campaign takes the opposite approach.”
Billed as the first big game ad that runs in your dreams, Coors Light enlisted the help of leading sleep psychologist Dr. Deirdre Barrett to help create audio and visual stimuli which people can view and listen to before and during sleep. The goal is to harness the power of targeted dream incubation to trigger dreams of Coors Light. The brand is releasing the stimulus package online today and inviting people to try it for themselves in what it’s calling “the world’s largest dream study.”
“It allows for two-way communication,” Frittelli adds, hoping that people will talk about their dream experience the same way they would about the game’s most creative ads. “It allows them to take part in something very interactive, taps into the curiosity we all have as individuals, and it’s something that’s a little bit out there but reflects our brand positioning by inviting consumers to chill. Ultimately, the best place to chill is in your sleep.”
Prior to launching the campaign, Molson Coors and U.S. agency partner DDB tested the premise with a small sample group, Frittelli says, many of whom did see Coors imagery in their dream and reported feeling “very refreshed and rejuvenated.”
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Armed with the knowledge that it does work, Molson Coors decided the idea was ready for prime time – or, at least, for bedtime. Frittelli says he expects the campaign to be a success as “people are inherently interested, because this goes beyond demographics and taps into our human nature and inner curiosity.”
The interactive approach is not new for Coors, which has in the past year challenged consumers to build their own “beerman” and recreate Kawhi Leonard’s four-bounce shot that sent the Toronto Raptors to the NBA finals.
That fits into Coors finding ways to reach Canadian consumers beyond “traditional beer moments,” Frittelli notes. Many of the typical occasions Coors markets around – be it simple on-premise bar sales, trips to the cabin with friends or major music festivals – have been largely inaccessible for the better part of the last year.
“With the current climate, people are looking for non-traditional entertainment, and we wanted to be sure Coors Light still had a presence while providing a refreshing take,” says Frittelli. “We could all use a refreshing night’s sleep these days, and that’s exactly what we hope this experience will bring to our consumers.”
