Michelob ULTRA – Evolving a brand POV

"Do you think you can win? Loser buys!”
Or, how my lifelong tendency to play-to-win finally paid off. 🍻

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The context:
Michelob ULTRA has always been known as a low-calorie, low-carb beer for an active lifestyle. However, focusing on this balance between being active vs. being social limits the occasions where the brand is relevant. More importantly, it’s missing the truth about what makes competing against friends really fun.

We needed to give the beer a more meaningful role than being a ‘post-workout reward.’ To do this, we positioned ULTRA as a trophy– as a prize worth playing for. That's why we brew this stuff in the first place – for active people who come together, and enjoy putting it all on the line.

The truth:
Friendly competition is WAY more fun when you up the ante.

The POV:
Play you for an ULTRA?

To launch this new platform, we took friendly competition to the extreme and recruited Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara to star in the greatest hustler film to every hit the Super Bowl.

“The ULTRA Hustle” landed at the top of several “best of Super Bowl LIX” lists, including Adweek, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, and many more. It also hit #3 on the USA Today Ad Meter – a record high for the brand – making it a hit with critics and viewers alike.

Coverage included: Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Mashable, Variety, People, The Hollywood ReporterAdAge, AdWeek, and importantly, r/pickleball.