The men and women who fight the wildfires that plague America’s western states are often understaffed, underfunded and overwhelmed and Coors Banquet, a proudly western beer brand is stepping up to help them.
When one thinks Coors, more times than not, its flagship Coors Light brand comes to mind. That’s not surprising, after all it’s the second bestselling beer in America, and has been for a while.
But there’s another Coors brand with a rich western heritage, Coors Banquet Beer, which has been brewed for almost 150 years. And with wildfires becoming a more common and destructive force in states across the U.S., the brand this year is expanding its longstanding program to support firefighters nationwide
Protect Our Protectors, the next iteration of Coors Banquet’s Protect Our West program, includes a four-fold increase in the brand’s media spend on the campaign over 2021 built around a cinematic new ad which will air across digital and social channels this summer that follows a crew of “Hotshots” as they trudge through a hazy wooded area, deploying their tools to fight a fire.
Coors Banquet will also soon be unveiling an updated merch collection that they once again did with the popular clothing designer Brixton.
The Protect Our West collection features Brixton’s signature style elevated with original hand-drawn artwork for a limited collection of Western classics and modern staples. The collection’s color palette leans on Banquet’s signature golden shade, which was first introduced after the repeal of Prohibition on both cans and bottle labels.
And as always a portion of proceeds from beer and merchandise sales will benefit the Wildland Firefighters Foundation, totaling $250,000.
“This is about honoring the men and women who run toward the fire,” Stephanie Clanfield, marketing manager for Coors Banquet told Beer & Beyond. “Increasingly, wildfires are not just a problem in the West. They’re a national problem that’s getting worse, and we have the opportunity to do even more to support these brave men and women.”
Coors Banquet, which was born in Golden, Colorado in 1873 and is brewed there exclusively to this day, has long embraced its western roots.
The brand has a long history of supporting American firefighting efforts in the West. In 2014 Coors Banquet Beer began its support of the Wildland Firefighters Association and that commitment continues today.
We can get snarky when it comes to big beer companies here at American Craft Beer. So it’s only fair that that we showcase them when their actions deserve praise.
And Coors Banquet’s annual wildfire efforts deserve praise.
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