As the Stanley Cup Playoffs got underway in Mid May, Molson Canada leveraged its NHL partnership (and its team-specific sponsorships of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers) through a new branded robot vacuum-cleaner/beer-cooler called the ‘Brewmboni’.
Designed to look like a miniature version of the sport’s iconic Zamboni ice-resurfacer, the brand creation comes in Molson’s corporate colours and includes the beer’s logo and is positioned as ‘part vacuum, part cooler, all hockey’.
Developed with creative agency Rethink, the device claims to ‘remove dirt, grime and spills while keeping up to four Molson tall boys pleasantly chilled’ and aims to offer fans a hockey-relevant, fun way to clean up all the snacks and spills next to the couch as NHL supporters sit at home glued to the playoffs on the television.
The initiative is promoted through a major tongue-in-cheek PR push coupled with a digital and social campaign led by a microsite (at molsonbrewmboni.ca) and a hero ‘Introducing Molson Brewmboni’ spot posted across the brand’s own channels on 13 May.
Sadly, at time of the campaign release, the Brewmboni remains in the prototype phase so the creative urges fans to visit MolsonBrewmboni.ca to get on the waiting list or download design specs to build their own.
“With the NHL playoffs ringing in a second virtual season, we know Canadian hockey fans are missing the sights and sounds of their hometown arenas more than ever,” explained Molson Senior Brand Director Joy Ghosh. “The Brewmboni is a lighthearted way that we can bring fans closer to Canada’s game while enjoying an ice-cold Molson Canadian from the comfort of their squeaky-clean living rooms.”
“Depending on the demand and interest, and further R&D, it may be available for purchase,” Rethink creative director Dhaval Bhatt added. “But for now the Brewmboni will be going on an extensive press tour and making stops at news desks and breakfast shows. It was an idea that was presented several years ago, but didn’t make it through. This time, the creative team had it as part of a script for Molson. Then we thought, ‘Why don’t we see if we can actually make it?’ And that’s how the Brewmboni was finally turned into reality.”
Comment:
PR stunt or practical branded device? You decide!
This campaign follows on from Molson’s ‘It’s Complicated’ hockey campaign in January 2021 which was also created by Rethink.
Hockey has an increasingly long and impressive heritage of beer branded useful at-home devices such as the Budweiser Canada NHL Hockey ‘Red Light’.
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