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Chillboards by Coors Light
Published: July 23, 2022
Episode Description
Work-In-Progress: This episode is currently in production.
Rather than advertise on traditional billboards, Coors Light chose instead to advertise on roof-top chillboards that were applied with reflective white paint. These innovative chillboards served the dual-purpose of reinforcing Coors Light’s Made to Chill branding while also serving to lower the temperature of the roofs by as much as 50 degrees. The campaign is both eco-conscious (by reducing the need for air conditioning) and socially-conscious (by reducing the risk of heat stroke among residents of apartments in economically disadvantaged communities.)
That cooling effect made a big difference in the economically-disadvantaged Miami community called Litle Haiti where the chillboards were painted on the roofs of 96 apartment buildings. Ordinarily visible only to birds and airplane passengers, these Chillboards were promoted via TV ads, social media, and a campaign microsite.
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Michael Organ produces and hosts the Meaningful Impact podcast. He specializes in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communications. He is also the founder and editor of CauseMarketing.com and CSR.org.
Michael Organ offers the insight and expertise which comes from analyzing the outcomes of marketing campaigns that he’s implemented for over 500 corporate and non-profit clients.
In addition to hosting the Meaningful Impact podcast, Michael Organ leads our custom CSR content-development services. Working with both agencies and clients, he develops social-purpose communications which: attract new customers, increase retention and loyalty of existing customers, enhance corporate reputation, help recruit high-performing employees, mobilize public support, and improve legislative outcomes.
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Related Material
Chillboards Case Study Video
Chillboards Case Study Script
Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, Miami-Dade County: Extreme heat is a challenge in cities worldwide. I’m Jane Gilbert. I’m the Chief Heat Officer for Miami-Dade County. We have far more days over 90 degrees than we had just a few decades ago. Black roofs can get up to 170 degrees, affecting everyone who lives under them.
On-Screen Text: Coors Light is Made to Chill. What if our ads could chill communities as much as our beer does? Coors Light presents Chillboards… billboards nobody can see but everybody can feel.
Jane Gilbert: Painting roofs with special white paint can reflect 85% of sunlight, lowering surface temperatures by up to 50 degrees.
On-Screen Text: Black Roofs 149°F. White Roofs 99°F.
Unidentified Residents: We’re always having to keep the air on and having that on all day is expensive. I’ve never seen ads on top of the roof, where it’s helping the community.
Jane Gilbert: We’re working on policies at the state level to encourage cool and white roofs. These Chillboards raise people’s awareness all over the world. And that’s a great thing. I’d love to see this on more roofs across America.
On-Screen Text: Coors Light is giving away 5,000 gallons of white paint. Learn more at Chillboards.com. Coors Light. Made to Chill.
Chillboards 15-Second Ad
Like a ‘play within a play’, the Chillboards 15-second TV ad promotes an ad campaign; i.e., ‘Chillboards’ installed on the roofs of 96 apartment buildings in Miami. Launched in May 2022, the TV ad explains how Coors Light is being both eco-conscious and socially-conscious by helping residents of disadvantaged communities to keep cool and lower utility bills.
The Chillboards feature a roof coating of white paint, capable of reflecting up to 85% of sunlight and lowering roof surface temperature by 50-degrees during heat surges, thereby reducing the risk of heat stroke and reducing electricity usage for air conditioning.
Campaign Website
#Chillboards #Sweeps
It’s not clear how many prizes were awarded, but perhaps due to the relatively low value of the incentive ($80), the sweepstakes opportunity to win 5 gallons of white paint yielded a modest 188 retweets and 84 quote tweets.
Chillboards Press Release
- Beer & Beyond Company News
Chillboards Media Coverage
- Little Black Book Online (Behind the Work): How Coors Light’s ‘Chillboards’ Help Lower Temperatures and Utility Bills for This Miami Community
- Reel Chicago: Coors Light beats the heat with Chillboards energy-efficient campaign
- Ads of the World: Credits
Ice Cold Beer!
At professional sports stadiums, “Ice Cold Beer!” is a familiar refrain shouted by vendors who are hawking cans of yeast-fermented malt that’s flavored with hops — aka beer. Independent of the actual brand of beer being sold, these stadium vendors have discovered that the concepts of “ice” and “cold” powerfully motivate the beer-buying audience.
Given how Coors Light is marketed, the Molson Coors Beverage Company seems to have arrived at the same conclusion, backed by two centuries of experience and millions of dollars of consumer research. The Coors Light label features a prominent image of ice-capped Rocky Mountains and incorporates ‘Cold as the Rockies’ as its tagline and registered trademark. Similarly, the beer’s logo features a cool-blue stylized image of the Rocky Mountains. Further, Coors Light advertising images feature water condensation on the cans and bottles, as if the beer can were recently removed from a cooler filled with ice.
Notice that the beer case design includes the word Cold rendered in the same font as Coors. That’s typically a branding no-no, except when there’s a vested interest in making the brand synonymous with a particular concept; in this instance, “cold.” In fact, Coors emphasizes that its beer is:
- Cold Lagered: Below freezing for a lighter, crisper taste
- Cold Filtered: For a brighter appearance
- Cold Packaged: For peak refreshment
The Coors Light campaign slogan, Made to Chill, is a double entendre, in which the word chill is used variously to mean both relaxing and refreshing.
Here’s an example of how Coors Light uses the slogan Made to Chill to convey refreshing:
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