Mountain Cold Refershment in the form of Mondays Light

Hi everyone! I'm here to shed some light on Coors Light's Super Bowl ad campaign, as well as their most recent marketing flop (and rebound in process). This headline caught my eye not because I'm a loyal Super Bowl viewer or beer consumer, but because it reminded me of the alcohol company Corona's marketing plummet during the pandemic - also because I found it comical, and still question whether or not the mishap was purposeful.

Summary
 The article I chose covers Coors Light's limited edition Mondays Light packaging release nationwide shortly before the Super Bowl.

 This marketing tactic is centered around a play on the idiom "a case of Mondays". In this case, though, it's specifically the Monday after the big game. Due to it being one of the most difficult workdays for people who saw the game and reporters/others involved in its happening, it's been dubbed the "crustiest Monday of the year.

 The parody of the packaging follows Coors Light's *literal* case of Mondays. On January 13th, Coors Light released a plethora of ads, one of which was displayed on a digital billboard in Times Square. Every single one of these ads had a bold and misspelled word: Refershment.

 Coors light has since issued an apology for the misspelling, simultaneously managed to jokingly play it off as having "a case of the Mondays".

Value Proposition
 Coors Light has long rested on its laurels of being the "world's most refreshing beer". From color-shifting (when chilled) beer cans when chilled to the snow capped mountains usually found somewhere near the logo, Coors Light has successfully led the public to associate the brand with it being a cold beer. Their value proposition in this specific example is a valuable joint addition to the big game, and to help that notion, they have achieved three-time ad appearances at the Super Bowl.

The Challenge
 The challenge that Coors Light is facing now is recovering from their Refershment typo. Some steps they have taken to recover from that is putting out a public statement apologizing for the typo and swiftly making it fuel for their drop of their new beer (Mondays Light). If anything, the eye-drawing and conversation-starting mistake launched them towards more publicity (and not necessarily bad publicity), so competing brands don't particularly stand the chance of picking up any positive exposure that they lost during this process. 

I question the genuinity of this "mistake" because Coors Light is handling it so well.

Marketing Approach
 The "Mondays" marketing approach is remarkable because it is visibly simple yet compelling and clever. The audience which it targets is obviously likely the majority of over 21 weekday working class men and women that tend to relax and unwind on evenings and weekends with the assistance of alcohol - also those who can appreciate a good pun. The Super Bowl is on the weekend and in the evening, and it is followed by an already stereotypically dreaded working class Monday. Coors light took full advantage of this already widely known and lasting working class cult classic and spun it in their favor.

Critique 
This marketing approach is GENIUS! (as Mr. Priewe would say). There are layers to it. The Mondays Light in itself is a successful way of catching the attention of target consumers. However, a spelling error that appears big and bold on a Times Square billboard is a risky situation - some could argue that it's grounds for questioning the company's attention to details, or even quality of service/product. Fortunately, Coors Light managed to respond to their own oopsie in a way that shifted attention off of the mishap itself and onto its current marketing campaign. That is not easily achieved or seen often, but they exited the crisis and executed the solution flawlessly, while also not being afraid to crack a joke at themselves in the process.

WWID (What Would I Do?)
 I do not think that I would be capable of thinking of such a solution; I would have spiralled into a hole of embarrassment. If I had a mind similar to that of the brand manager at Coors Light, I would have suggested a similar approach at finding a way out of the spelling error. On the flip side, the joke about Mondays is not my common sense of humor, so I would have most likely thought of a different marketing approach. 

I can appreciate the joke, though.

Something I learned from Coors Light's approach to marketing is that some big-looking mistakes are actually quite manageable. I also learned that keeping a positive attitude and being attentive to your loyal consumer base helps to keep things moving in a positive direction. Troubleshooting in a timely manner is necessary for recovery as well.

Links

Main Article
https://www.marketingdive.com/news/coors-light-case-of-mondays-super-bowl-ad-campaign/737399/

Supplemental Article
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/coors-light-becomes-mondays-light-limited-time-after-misspelled-ad

Link to Coors Light
https://www.coors.com/av?url=https://www.coors.com/