22/02/2022

Michelob Ultra Leverages NBA All-Star Game Via ‘90s Nostalgia In Its ‘NBA Jam Team-up’

For the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend, Michelob Ultra encouraged hoops fans to ‘Enjoy It Like It’s 1993’ with a collection of in-person and online activations that recreate elements of classic arcade game NBA Jam.

 

 

The marketing effort rolled out immediately ahead of All-Star Weekend which was held in Cleveland between 18 and 20 February and spanned in-person and online experiences based on the beloved, old school video game – which first launched back in 199 – to help Michelob Ultra to engage with millennial drinkers who grew up playing the game in arcades and at home.

 

The AB InBev brand, which is the official beer brand of the NBA in the USA, temporarily turned a Cleveland bar into ‘Boom Shaka Lakas’: an arcade bar inspired by the game’s iconic catchphrase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pop-up features music by artists who were first popular in the ’90s (such as rapper Fat Joe and DJ Jazzy Jeff), meet-and-greets with NBA Hall Of Famers and other players who made their names in the 90s and who are legends in both real life and the game, plus exclusive merchandise and appearances by the voice of NBA Jam Tim Kitzrow (whose catchphrases are a signature part of the game’s charm).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While NBA Jam inspired cans were also available at the bar, at other Cleveland locations and at the All Star Weekend’s home arena and the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

 

 

For those basketball fans not able to be in Cleveland in person, the brand invited them to tweet a selfie to @MichelobUltra with the hashtag #ULTRAJAM in order to receive a 16-bit avatar in the style of the game in a bid to make the initiative spread virally as avatars gain more prominence amid spiking interest in the metaverse.

 

The brand also launched a ’90s browser like experience called EnjoyItLikeIts1993.com: a ’90s-styled website where fans can buy merchandise and premium items, including a custom NBA Jam x Ultra arcade console, plus T-shirts, a custom arcade cabinet with a beer fridge.

 

 

 

Working with agency Wieden + Kennedy New York, the Anheuser-Busch beer also ran three ads fronted by NBA star Jimmy Butler during the All-Star Game itself to showcase its light beer, Pure Gold organic lager and hard seltzer offerings. The celeb-heavy multi-spot burst featured an even gender split of athlete ambassadors in a move linked to its recent $100m pledge to increase the visibility of women in sports.

 

 

 

 

 

Comment

 

This tactic not only saw Michelob Ultra jump on the early 2022 1990’s nostalgia bandwagon, but also become part of the return to experiential marketing trend as consumers across the USA return to pre-pandemic activities as Covid-19 increasingly becomes an endemic part of everyday life.

 

 

 

 



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