As the playoffs move into the second round, NHL partner Molson Canadian activated its rights as the league’s official beer (in Canada) by brewing and promoting a batch of beer which has been poured through The Stanley Cup itself.
Why? To bring to life every hockey fan’s dream of sipping from The Stanley Cup.
Now all Canadian NHL beer drinkers have a chance to drink like champions.
Created by agency Rethink and launched on 7 June, ‘Molson Canadian’s Stanley Cup Batch’ was promoted via a digital-first campaign led by a hero spot.
The official beer of the NHL, Molson Canadian, transported the three-foot tall, 35-pound league championship trophy to its brewery and poured some beer through trophy to create a limited-edition batch. The brewery states that ‘strict sanitization protocols’ were followed.
The ‘Stanley Cup Batch’ features fresh, trophy-themed bottles and packaging and is available at retailers across most of Canada (not in Quebec due to distribution issues).
“This was one of those ‘We need to make this happen’ ideas, and for sure it was a big undertaking when you take one of the most iconic sports trophies in history and incorporate it into the beer process,” said Rethink Partner Joel Holtby. “But as soon as we shared the idea with the Molson Canadian team, they saw the potential, and same was true with the NHL. We had to bring several stakeholders on board and work through some crazy manufacturing logistics.”
“This is for every die-hard hockey fan out there, the players, the coaches and, well, every Canadian,” Holtby added. “Hockey is Canada’s game, and we grow up dreaming of one day sipping from the Stanley Cup. We wanted to give that chance to all lovers of the game.”
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This fun activation follows on from the brand’s season-long ‘It’s Complicated’ integrated campaign and the earlier playoffs ‘Zamboni Vacuum’ viral.
It was back in 2011 that the NHL announced a major seven-year agreement with brewers Molson Coors in Canada which saw flagship brand Molson Canadian take the exclusive league rights in the beer sponsorship category with the Official Beer of the NHL designation, beginning with the 2011-12 NHL season.
Then in January 2020 Molson Coors announced a multi-year extension of this partnership with the NHL as an official beer of the competition in Canada and the rights to activate throughout the NHL regular season and across all major NHL tentpole events (including the Heritage Classic, All-Star Weekend, Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final).
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