Young people are ditching beer, so Coors Light is launching a major marketing push under its new CMO to go after them

Coors Light

MillerCoors’ light beer Coors Light is kicking off a major campaign this week.
The "multi-million dollar" campaign marks the first from its new creative agency Leo Burnett Chicago and recently-appointed CMO Michelle St. Jacques.
MillerCoors is trying to win over millennial and Gen Z customers who are increasingly ditching beer for wine, cocktails and other spirits, leading to declining beer sales and consumption.
Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Millennials and Gen Z are ditching beer, so MillerCoors’ light beer brand Coors Light is launching a new marketing push this week aimed at younger drinkers.

The campaign is the first for its new creative agency Leo Burnett Chicago and recently appointed CMO Michelle St. Jacques, and is a departure from the tone of many of Coors Light’s campaigns in recent years, including 2016’s lofty one called "Climb On" that portrayed people overcoming challenges.

Coors Light is trying a new tack under a new CMO and creative ad agency

It’s centered around the tagline "Made to chill," and is the company’s biggest paid social and digital video campaign to date, said Ryan Reis, VP of brand marketing for the Coors family of brands at MillerCoors. He said it was in a "multi-million" dollar campaign, without giving specific numbers.

Coors Light’s campaign reflects the insight that Gen Z and Millennial drinkers don’t necessarily go out that much and also tend to drink around occasions, rather than just for the sake of drinking, according to the company.

The ads insert Coors Light in millennial-focused scenes, including a woman skillfully removing her bra from underneath her shirt and drinking a beer as she gets home from work, and two roommates whipping up breakfast and opening cans of beer on a Saturday.

"Coors Light will always be mountain-cold refreshment at heart, but we had to make the brand relevant in a way that resonates with the next generation of beer-drinkers," Reis told Business Insider. "We feel that Coors Light is the perfect antidote to the world today that’s always-on."

The company is trying to reverse declining sales and attract younger consumers

The campaign is part of parent company MillerCoors’ attempt to target millennial and Gen Z customers, who are increasingly ditching beer in favor of wine, cocktails and other spirits, leading to a decline in beer sales.

Global beer sales by volume dropped by 2.2% in 2018, as sales of mixed drinks, gin, and whiskey grew, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis data released in May. Beer sales by volume declined 1.6% in the US, with dollar sales of Coors Light declining 3.9% in 2018, according to market research firm IRI.

Under St. Jacques, MillerCoors is trying to fight back by moving faster, keeping its advertising culturally relevant and also launching new hard sparkling water and cocktail products such as Cape Line.

Reis said the company would be tracking how the campaign changes perceptions among consumers and distributors, along with sales trends.

NOW WATCH: This Facebook exec cofounded and then got fired from Pets.com. Here’s why she is no longer hiding from this failure.