by Written by: Lauren Cheever
Every year on Valentine’s Day, singles are plagued by reminders of their relationship status. Advertisements and social media posts are rampant with happy couples and messages of love, leading to a lot of people feeling left our and lonely. This Valentine’s Day, you can see advertisements that cater to experiences and emotions of those who are spending the holiday at home and on the couch instead of with a lover.
During the airing of the Celebrity All-Star Game, I saw an advertisement that was run by Coors that is part of their campaign promoting the sale of Coors light. The commercial shows a young millennial woman taking a seat on her couch next to a large dog and cracking open a can of Coors Light while settling in to watch TV. The commercial references “cuffing season” and the depression that some singles experience during this time with their slogan that Coors is “the official beer for skipping cuffing season”.
Coors has chosen to use the millennial attitude that sees Valentine’s day as cheesy or corny to their advantage to flip the message promoting romantic love to one that promotes the loving companionship of a pet. This is the reality for a lot of millennials that feel the stresses of finding a relationship when seeing happy couples posted all over their feeds during the winter months (A.K.A. cuffing season).
Another aspect of this campaign is Coors’ pledge that they will pay the fees for 1000 dog adoptions between February 4 and February 21st this year (2020). This is in an effort to promote dog adoption rates from shelters across the country. Coors has clearly targeted the younger millennial audience with this campaign, using their love of dogs to motivate and call them to action to buy their brand of beer while painting their brand in a positive light by supporting this cause.
Coors’ Instagram page chose to include photos taken by real Coors customers that they took their dogs posing alongside the beer. All of their posts include the hashtag #madetochill to gain further reach when trying to get Millennials on Instagram to see their posts. This is also a way for Coors to find good content to post on their own instagram account.
By taking advantage of the interactiveness between their brand and audience through Instagram, Coors has created a campaign that has both effective messaging and dissemination. Their use of the hashtag feature on Instagram allows people to see the positive effect their campaign is having because those who have adopted a dog following the campaign are posting where the rest of the world can see.
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As a dog lover, I’d like to thank you for bringing this campaign to my attention! I think it’s a very creative way to turn a holiday that many people feel lonely on to one that anyone can celebrate. Like you mentioned, Coors did a great job of tapping into the millennial market by making valentines day less about human companionship and more about something that everyone enjoys – dogs. By encouraging other people to post pictures of their product and their dogs it helps to spread their message and gives them lots of content to then use on their own channels. The other thing I really like about this campaign is the fact that they went one step further than just selling their product and are going to cover the adoption fees for 1,000 dogs throughout February. Also, I used to have a Cavalier King Charles as a pet when I was younger and they are just the most adorable things in the world.
I think that Coors campaign idea is genius. Not only because it is promoting acceptance of singles, but because it is doing it in an way that is not obnoxious (like many companies are doing). They are incorporating an interactive hashtag which creates conversation between people and generates discussion about their brand. In general, this campaign is positive (hello, cute dogs!!) and clever marketing to their target customer. Because of that, this is successful.
This campaign by Coors contains very good marketing strategies by targeting singles rather than targeting couples. By straying away from the typical couple centered marketing techniques of valentines day, Coors will get a more wide-spread audience. I really like the idea behind this campaign because not only does it promote good values, but it also promotes people to take action in something important by encouraging people to adopt dogs from shelters. By focusing in on self-love and not honing on the negativity that often surrounds valentines campaigns, Coors uses created a very successful campaign.
I love this campaign, I have never seen it before but I will now start following their hashtag. I think dog adoption rates are a big problem with puppy mills gaining popularity. I think Coors did a good job showcasing something that is not exactly on-brand but well timed with Valentine’s day to support a good cause, their brand, and something all people love, dogs! I think a lot of brands try to blend in and bash on the corniness of Valentine day without counteracting the negativity, but this was a great marketing strategy and I am excited to see the dogs people adopt.
This campaign has so many good things going for it. Not only is it promoting Coors, but it is promoting the adoption of dogs as well. Using Valentine’s Day as a foundation for a commercial relating to singles being alone on their couch reaches out to more people than they may have thought possible. They are showing that it is okay to be alone on this dreadful day full of happy couples and Instagram photos. Having a furry friend and a cold Coors while sitting on the couch sounds like a great deal to me. I’ve never seen a beer company make efforts to promote the adoption of dogs but this I can see will be very successful in the future.
As a huge dog lover, this campaign makes my heart warm. Not only is Coors increasing their sales, but they are also donating to a wonderful cause. It’s a win-win. I think this would be a perfect example of when public relations can make a real impact on the world. Additionally, I feel that targeting “singles” through their hashtag on social media was also a great choice for this brand. This campaign directly targets singles but it also indirectly targets dog-lovers, whether they are single or not. And let’s be honest, everyone is a dog lover in some way.
Great campaign. Not just to promote adoption, but they are paying for adoption fees as well. The campaign feels authentic and not simply a marketing ploy for attention.
Great article Lauren! This is a wonderful campaign to change the narrative around what is typical for companies to participate in during specific holidays or events. By focusing on who is left out during Valentine’s Day, rather than who Valentine’s Day is meant for, Coors is setting itself up for a good start because it won’t be drowned out by every other company that is focusing on the theme around love and relationships. Moreover, Coors does a great job to incorporate its product in a meaningful way as well as giving back (i.e., paying the adoption fees for 1000 dog adoptions), which further improves Coors’ brand image. This campaign was a great way to show that not sticking to the status quo and integrating your product/service in a meaningful way is a much better way to deliver a more resonating message to consumer and generate more impact on social media.
I am really glad that I chose to read your blog post. I hadn’t heard of this campaign yet, but now I will be following it. I am a dog lover and thin what Coors has done is both creative and effective for their company. They are giving back and paying for dog adoption fees which will help their corporate social responsibility and brand image, It came out at a good time to around Valentine’s Day.
Campaigns that not only tie in brand awareness but also some kind of community engagement/doing something good have become powerful and more popular in this day and age. I think its great messaging that Coors put out. Brands tying themselves to a cause in their campaign have a much more powerful message that make their audience pay attention. I really like this campaign because it is bigger than just beer which will make me remember the brand as well as the cause they fought for. Coors did a great job with this
As a huge dog lover, I love this campaign and I think it’s a great way to stray from the negative stereotypes of being sad and single on Valentine’s day. Coors did a great job of using this campaign to not only promote their brand but also have excellent CSR. By paying for adoption feed for dogs, they are pulling on the heartstrings of a very wide audience and will help people remember the brand in a positive light.
Cool messaging to cater towards individuals who may struggle during this time of year. This is also a great campaign. I find it interesting that the messaging is around Valentine’s Day, but the campaign is from Feb 4-21. Did Coors run an ad on Super Bowl Sunday or something of that nature?
I think Coors did an awesome job targeting millennials through the popular idea of “cuffing season” and dogs. Both are spot on when it comes to what millennials pay attention to and care about. This campaign was a smart way to not only promote Coors and create conversation around the brand, but also a way to integrate meaning into a campaign and incorporate CSR. I have always been a Coors lover, but this campaign puts them at the top of my list!
Loved your blog post and creativity. The campaign was great and I loved its positive message. I also liked how it advertised to a large target audience, singles. I liked your referral of Coors using a “millennial attitude” and the overall sassiness of the Instagram post. I also liked that you brought attention to the brand and their audiences ties with one another!
I love how Coors is taking a stance on Valentine’s Day that goes against the norm of coupling up and romanticism. Coors understands that its target audience, Millennials and Gen Zs over 21, is interested in brands supporting causes important to these demographics. In this case that cause is animal adoption. Beer consumption among these demographics is declining and beer brands need to find a way to create brand affinity with groups that are not consuming their products. I would like to see how many adoptions Coors was able to pay for with this campaign.
I think this campaign was really smart! Lots of millennials have cheap beer in their fridge and also have dogs, so combining the two are a genius idea. I think it would’ve been better for Coors to also create filters for people and their dogs, since the filter tech on Instagram is expanding – this same audience probably loves using Instagram stories and using those filters would be a huge booster for their campaign as well. Things like this make me envy those who have dogs, but I’m realistic enough to know a broke student like me can’t afford a dog right now, haha.
Hi Lauren,
I love when dogs are incorporated into ad campaigns and I think Coors really hit the spot on this one. Millennials generally enjoy beer and who doesn’t love dogs? The company started the conversation with its consumers by providing a hashtag, where people can post their dogs. Also, their attention to the fact that not everyone is in the “cuffing season” mood around Valentines Day is smart because it targets a whole new group of consumers.
I love seeing content like this because so many brands utilize dogs without strategy. Yes it’s adorable to see dogs in every medicine or lawn mower commercial, but it begins to get saturated when they are just present for eye candy. With the neck ribbons and solid copywriting, this is a much smarter way to utilize the furry creatures without looking like their just jumping in line.
I like the campaign that coors put on emphasizing skipping cuffing season. I think that it is important to note that these dogs are used as an alternative to a significant other, becuase dogs bring happiness to so many people. Putting dogs in these advertisement will cause people to talk about the new campaign and share the pictures of the dogs and the coors. The brand recognition that these dogs are giving Coors will benefit the brand.
The accuracy of this article couldn’t be more relevant to my current lifestyle. I just recently became a father to a 4 month old puppy who requires an immense amount of effort and attentievness. In return, he provides endless laughter and love which leads me to not desiring to seek this in a companion.
I salute coors’ ability to tap into a millennials mindset and use our language to innovate a commercial and social campaign that resonates with a “neglected” group during valentines day.
Great choice Lauren!
Thanks for sharing, Lauren. I really like this campaign by Coors for a couple reasons. I think the use of dogs obviously appeals to a wide array of consumers and most will connect with this campaign in one way or another. The emotional appeal of dogs, or any animal for that matter, is definitely a great way to get consumers to connect with the brand. Also, I love that Coors used events like Valentine’s Day and the All-Star Game to go against the grain and run a campaign that celebrates singles and the unbreakable bond that many people have with their pet, while many other brands are focusing on the romantic mood surrounding the month of February.
I didn’t see this but hats off to Coors, this is a brilliant marketing plan. Everybody loves dogs( except for Jill Newsom) and the fact that they actually have a campaign behind the marketing is a great. The post here doesn’t highlight the adoption which would might have lead to more engagement for them.
Um, yes.
I think this campaign by Coors is spot on. As you mentioned, they knew exactly who, why and how to engage with this content. I was for it with the anti-cuffing season angle but throwing the support of dog adoption into the mix totally sold me. This made me recall the different donation/giving patterns of generational groups that I did research on for my fundraising for nonprofits class. This campaign is really hitting on the fact that millennials are very interested in philanthropy and more often give of their time and social capital than with money.
Excellent choice, Lauren.
I love this! while I’m not the biggest fan of beer, I think it was really smart of Coors to take advantage of millennials’ use of social media both to help a cause as well as sell their product. We all understand that feeling of being alone during the dreaded cuffing season, but animals are always a comfort to go to. Especially our generation being in a very different dating climate than that of our parents. With the rise of dating apps and separation of emotional attachment because of online social media use.