Heavyweight spending on Coors Light

Murphys Brewery is to spend £750,000 (€952,300) in an advertising campaign to support the new look Coors Light. For the first time in Ireland the lager will be advertised on television on RTE 1, Network 2, UTV, Channel 4 and Sky with a commercial created by London agency FCB that depicts a never-ending party. The advertisements will be broadcast from March 22nd and will be supported by extensive below-the-line activity.

The marketing expenditure is a fraction of the total investment of £3 million by Murphys and the Colorado based Coors Brewing International. The changes in the brand extend beyond a new-look label as the lager has been reformulated with a stronger ABV (Alcohol by Volume) which has been increased from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent.

The target market for the light beer is 18/21-year-olds and the below-the-line activity co-ordinated by Creative Solutions reflects this, with a highly visible merchandising team visiting key outlets with several different promotions. In March and April, more than 43,000 bottles of Coors Light will be given away. In the off-licence trade Coors Light will continue to use gifts and in particular its "link to silver", giving away premium silver items.

This week the brand capitalised on the numbers of people in Dublin for the St Patrick's Day Parade by wrapping a building on O'Connell Bridge with an eye-catching giant wrap created by the brand's Irish Agency, DDFH & B. Also part of the campaign is sponsorship of South Park on TV3. This cult cartoon series is the highest rated entertainment programme in US television history.