Is the new Coors Chill Campaign too hot?

Coors gets down to the nitty gritty of relaxing.

Coors beer has always positioned itself as the beer made from the clean pure mountain water. It’s cold brewed to keep the freshness and even the can changes color so you know when the mountains are blue the beverage is ice cold. But I guess that message is lost on the younger generation who cares about ingredients but not necessarily when it comes to beer. Beer is about being social or just relaxing. So Coors decided to take their cold brew roots and marry it with the express “chill” which these days is all about taking it easy.

This sounds like a great way to put the two ideas together, but to get people’s attention you have to have some shock value – something that people will remember. Mission accomplished, “The Official Beer of Chill” is provocative and in one case a bit shocking. “The Official Beer of Drinking on the Golf Course” is pretty clever, most golfers can relate to this, but not everyone plays golf. So they got down to a more basic level, “The Official Beer of Drinking in the Shower” begins to plug into that every guy relatability. But it makes me wonder do all young men (over 21) drink in the shower? Or are they saying if you don’t then you should consider it? What’s the real message here? And since most women would not relate to that, how about a woman who (for the sake of kids watching) takes off her bra from under her blouse. For most women I’ve talked to the idea is close to reality but the shock value is like telling a women’t only secret. Again, shock value vs. what is the message? Drink beer to relax or if you haven’t tried this, you should?

I think advertisers need to remember the incredible influence they wield. The power of advertising is formidable. It can change social perception, it can move social mountains and it can destroy them as well. I’m not saying this campaign is right or wrong – it accomplishes its goal – to get audience attention, but what audience? We seem to forget that there is a very young audience still out there, especially on game day. Encouraging them to drink as soon as they turn 18 or 21 is one thing, but can’t we let the nitty gritty come naturally? I’m sure this makes me a prude but, hey, I know the influence advertising has had in my life and that influence still carries from one generation to the next, let’s leave some private time things for the next generation to discover for themselves.