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WEIRD MARKETING
Brewer launches beer-flavoured lollipops to keep sports fans relaxed
By our News Team | 2022
An annual basketball tournament in the US gets sports fans hot under the collar. A beer brand has seen an unusual marketing opportunity.
Watching the annual men’s college basketball tournament in the US is apparently so stressful that fans either need to suck on a lollipop or drink a beer.
At least American beer brand Coors Light thinks so. And to help sports lovers deal with the anxiety of the event known commonly as NCAA March Madness, it recently launched beer-flavoured lollipops called ‘Chillollipops’, which will be available until the tournament ends in early April.
According to Coors, basketball fans “could use a little chill” and hence it decided to bring the chill via the Chillollipop, which it describes in a breathless press statement as “refreshing beer-flavoured lollipops”.
Photo courtesy of Coors Light
Explaining this slightly unusual brand strategy, the company said it drew inspiration from previous social experiments where lollipops and hard candies (sweets) were distributed to club patrons and bar-goers at the end of the evening to calm them down.
Brand enlists the advice of a professor
As the brand known for its chill ethos, Coors Light enlisted the advice of Manhattan College professor, Donald E. Gibson, Ph.D., who weighed in on the charged state sports fans experience while watching games.
“Emotions are contagious,” said Gibson. “If there are strong emotions around us, it’s very easy to be swept up in them. I believe that something as simple as a lollipop could have a calming influence in an emotionally charged situation.”
The brand hopes the Chillollipop will bring calm to the madness of college basketball.
“March is one of the most stressful times of the year for a college basketball fan,” said Marcelo Pascoa, Vice President of Marketing for the Coors Family of Brands.
“During all the incredible highs and lows of March basketball, Coors Light is the brand to bring a moment of chill. Whether in the form of a Chillollipop to bring the calm, or a mountain-cold Coors Light to refresh spirits.”
The lollipop, intended for consumers 21+ and crafted to taste similar to Coors Light, does not contain alcohol. But it does have a frothy foam top, similar to the experience of drinking a Coors Light from a pint glass.
Anyone feeling stressed today? Try a lollipop. Beer-flavoured, of course!
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