The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2023–2024
Coors keeps the dead-pixel square Ohtani made — its replica can sells out in 24h
Ohtani's foul ball kills a square of pixels on a Coors Light LED board; instead of fixing it, Coors prints the black square on cans and ads — and it sells out.
Coors Light (Molson Coors)
What it had to solve
During a 2023 MLB game at Citi Field, Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani fouled a ball into a Coors Light LED board and knocked out a square of pixels, leaving a black void just above the brand image on national television. The brand had paid for that media; a broken ad was the flaw it owned in front of millions of viewers.
How it works
In a 2023 Major League Baseball game at Citi Field, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani fouled a ball into a Coors Light LED board and knocked out a module of pixels. The result was a square of dead black screen sitting exactly on the can image — broadcast to every viewer. Most brands would have quietly repaired the panel and hoped nobody noticed.
Coors Light and agency Rethink did the opposite. They kept the flaw, named the campaign 'Lights Out,' and turned the broken pixels into a product: a limited-edition can that replicated the broken ad, complete with the black square. The blotch was also added to existing outdoor advertising and, during a later live game at Angel Stadium, to every screen in the ballpark, so the campaign and the moment that caused it happened in the same media.
The result was a viral sports-marketing moment. The commemorative can sold out within 24 hours, and the story generated enough buzz to create demand for Coors Light in Japan, Ohtani's home market. At the 2024 One Show the work collected three Gold Pencils and the Best of Out of Home honor; it was also entered in the D&AD awards archive, where the jury called it a great use of a real-world moment to create buzz around a brand.
Why it lands
- The campaign moved at the speed of the broadcast itself, converting a live accident into content before the story could go stale.
- Leaving the flaw untouched was the honest move: fans had watched it happen, so the black square carried authenticity no staged ad could match.
- The idea had a physical product — the replica can — so viral attention converted directly into purchase within hours.
- Extending the blotch to stadium screens and OOH made the 'repair' itself a media buy, multiplying the original accident's value.
- Airlifting the black square into unrelated placements created a symbol fans could recognize, copy and share.
What it did
The replica can sold out within 24 hours, according to the One Show winners' write-up, and the campaign went viral — even generating demand to start selling Coors Light in Japan, where Ohtani is a national figure. It took three Gold Pencils at the 2024 One Show (Out of Home, Print & Promotional and Social Media), was named Best of Out of Home, and entered the D&AD awards archive, where the jury praised it as a great use of a real-world moment.
What you can take
Speed plus restraint: leave the flaw visible and make it the product — an accident that happens live on camera is proof money cannot buy.
Since then
The black square became the campaign's signature while it ran: printed on the special-edition can, folded into existing ads, and displayed across Angel Stadium screens during a live game. The work's shelf life extended through the awards season — it won three One Show 2024 Gold Pencils and the discipline's Best of Out of Home, and appeared in the D&AD awards archive. The can sellout and the Japanese retail interest it sparked showed that a reaction campaign built on a single real moment could out-perform media bought for the same occasion.
Sources
- Coors Lights Out — D&AD Awards archive entry
- Clever Campaign Turns Blackened Ballpark LED Display Into Marketing Gold
- FCB New York Wins 14 Gold Pencils In The One Show 2024
- 2024 The One Show 全场大奖合集 (2024 One Show Best-of collection)
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