
(Photo by James Kern / Unsplash)
While watching the NFL playoffs, it occurred to us how few “American” beer commercials we’d seen, a noticeable departure from the extensive rollout of Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors beer brands that we’d grown up with.
But it shouldn’t be a surprise that Mexican beer brand Modelo Especial, currently the best-selling beer in the US, having overtaken the likes of Bud Light to snatch the crown, is also the most advertised beer brand on American TV.
And to be fair, its also important to note, that even though Modelo Especial is brewed Mexico and imported into the US by Constellation Brands, which acquired the Grupo Modelo’s family of beer from Anheuser-Busch in 2013, and has been enjoying its substantial profits ever since.
And those considerable sums have been funneled into its Mexican family of beers (which also includes Corona), extensive advertising and promotional efforts.
According to advertising spend data measurement firm iSpot, Modelo is the largest buyer of TV ads, spending an estimated $65 million as of July 2024. The imported Mexican beer, dethroned Bud Light last year in the midst of Bud Light Dylan Mulvaney trans-influencer controversy, has held firm to its #1 position and intends to cement that lead with its biggest advertising commitment ever.
“Despite Modelo being No. 1, there’s still a lot of awareness opportunity,” Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands told investors in 2024. “And we’re planning to go get it.”
Bud Light remains the biggest beer by volume, in part because of its sales to restaurants and bars, but Modelo is on pace to surpass this as well, Jim Watson, a senior beverage analyst at Rabobank, told Marketing Brew…
“Bud Light certainly has had a very tough last year, but that’s coming off of roughly two decades of slow decline,” Watson said. “We’ve had the same top four beers in the US—Bud Light, Budweiser, Coors Light, and Miller Lite—for many generations of beer drinkers. We’re seeing a changing of the guard.”
Total national TV ad spend for the beer category has plunged in the US by around 20% between 2019 and 2023. And big beer brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light have reduced their TV ad spend by 77% and 38%, respectively, according to iSpot, creating a vacuum for Modelo to up its visibility on American TV screens.
Yet in spite of its extensive commercial exposure throughout the NFL playoffs, Modelo will be sitting out the biggest football game of the year. Rivals Bud Light, Budweiser, Coors and Michelob Ultra, will all spend big, to visible during Super Bowl LIX.