The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2024
Miller Lite's 'Running of the Beer Ads' turned 1,000 fans into Super Bowl spots
Miller Lite bought no Super Bowl spot and gave 1,000 fans $100 and QR-code jerseys, earning 2+ billion impressions before game day.
Miller Lite
What it had to solve
For more than three decades, Anheuser-Busch InBev held exclusive rights as the Super Bowl's alcohol advertiser, keeping Molson Coors brands such as Miller Lite off the broadcast. AB InBev declined to renew the deal in 2022, and Molson Coors returned to the big game. For Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024, Coors Light took the conventional airtime; Miller Lite chose the opposite route — no official spot, and 1,000 fans running as the ads instead.
How it works
AB InBev's exclusive deal kept Molson Coors brands out of Super Bowl broadcast advertising for more than three decades. When the exclusivity ended and Molson Coors could finally buy airtime, it split the opportunity: Coors Light took a conventional spot for Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024, while Miller Lite ran no official ad at all.
Instead of one spot, Miller Lite recruited 1,000 fans. From February 1, the first 1,000 eligible sign-ups received $100, a kit and an official jersey printed with a QR code; on game day, during commercial breaks, these 'Miller Lite Big Game Ads' ran through the crowd, and anyone who scanned a jersey could register to win beer money — up to $170,000 in rewards, with comedian Rob Riggle as lead runner.
The activation turned fans into walking media. Scans drove thousands of visits to the campaign site on Super Bowl Sunday, and Molson Coors' CMO credited the idea with more than 2 billion earned media impressions before the game — attention earned without paying for a single spot, which the 2025 Effie Awards US later honored with a top Gold finish.
Why it lands
- Three decades of AB InBev exclusivity meant Miller Lite could never buy the moment; once the lockout ended, showing up differently was louder than finally buying a spot.
- A jersey with a QR code turns every fan into a mobile ad that also rewards the scanner with beer money, so participation, not reach, drives the mechanic.
- Registration opened two weeks before kickoff, making the campaign a pre-game story; the CMO called that earned conversation the mission and game day itself 'gravy.'
- Every scan is a measurable engagement, so a campaign with no airtime still produced countable outcomes — thousands of site visits on Super Bowl Sunday alone.
What it did
The QR codes drove thousands of people to the campaign site on Super Bowl Sunday, and Molson Coors CMO Sofia Colucci said the effort earned more than 2 billion media impressions before the game. The pre-game conversation was the mission, she explained — what happened during the game itself was 'gravy.' In May 2025 the campaign, credited to DDB Chicago, was named a Grand Effie contender at the 2025 Effie Awards US, a list Effie selects from its top-scoring Gold winners.
What you can take
When an exclusive contract decides who can buy the big stage, don't buy the stage: give 1,000 fans scannable jerseys, and the brand rides their beer runs — with every scan a measurable conversation.
Since then
The 2024 activation gave Molson Coors a template for playing around broadcast: QR jerseys turned 1,000 fans into living ads, drove thousands of Super Bowl Sunday site visits, and delivered more than 2 billion earned media impressions before the game, per CMO Sofia Colucci. In May 2025 the campaign was named a Grand Effie contender at the Effie Awards US — a shortlist Effie draws from its top-scoring Gold winners — with DDB Chicago credited as agency. The idea reframed Super Bowl marketing from buying one 30-second moment to recruiting an audience that carries the brand.
Sources
- Miller Lite Is Running 1000 Ads for the Super Bowl
- What Molson Coors learned being locked out of the Super Bowl for three decades
- The Field Museum's 'Blood Appetite' Wins Grand Effie at the 2025 Effie Awards US
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