“You cannot be serious.”

- John McEnroe, 1981

Albeit unintentionally, McEnroe was onto something. Sports are too serious. A win-at-all-costs mentality is causing many athletes to buckle under the pressure. For over 7 years, Michelob ULTRA has counterbalanced the world of performance, reminding people that “it’s only worth it if you enjoy it”. Brand Acts like Courtside have put joy firmly in the spotlight.

Michelob ULTRA’s distinct positioning around joy has helped the brand grow from the 5th to the 2nd biggest beer in the country. This despite struggles for the wider light-beer category, which have seen it decline 3%–4% per year since 2013.

But despite recent success, category competition is relentless. Sales are driven heavily by cultural relevance.

So Michelob ULTRA would need to further cultural relevance by doubling down on its distinct positioning. Grabbing people’s attention and reminding them that joy is not just an afterthought.

John McEnroe.

Not the first person who comes to mind when you think of joy in sports. He was his own toughest critic, a fierce competitor, and well-known for his angry on-court outbursts.

But later in life, John found joy. He finally realized “It’s only worth it if you enjoy it.”

So to challenge the win-at-all-costs mentality in modern sports, Michelob ULTRA challenged this living legend to face off against his own legacy, and embrace the joy he denied himself as a player.

Tennis met science fiction as Michelob ULTRA created the first real vs. virtual tennis match.

Through a combination of Artificial Intelligence, Unreal MetaHuman technology, and machine learning, John McEnroe was able to revisit his career, playing a real match against his toughest opponent: himself.

McEnroe went head-to-head against full A.I. versions of himself from the past.

Serving up joy like it’s never been seen before.

Michelob ULTRA appeals to drinkers who enjoy an active lifestyle and like to balance that with a better-for-you beverage.

To continue the brand’s recent growth, we needed to further our cultural relevance with this audience. Michelob ULTRA needed to double down on its distinctive positioning: It’s only worth it if you enjoy it. We needed to go beyond what anybody would expect.

Enter John McEnroe. The last person who comes to mind when you think of joy in sports, was the perfect partner to level up the brand’s commitment to joy. In a never-before-seen sporting event, Michelob ULTRA would remind us all to enjoy the journey, by giving McEnroe the chance to relive his.

McEnroe’s cultural relevance extends well beyond the game, opening up new audiences for the brand. And ESPN was specifically chosen as broadcast partner, synonymous with creating must-see, talk worthy moments in sports culture.

McEnroe vs. McEnroe was a throwback to an incredible career, but it was made possible with the most futuristic technology available. So, how do you create a virtual version of McEnroe that looks, thinks, and plays like him?

The idea was first conceived in April 2020. But given the audacity of the idea, it wasn’t until December that the idea entered R&D, discussing with industry experts how exactly to make it a reality.

In January, we agreed on the physical event space design. In February, the avatars were brought to life via scanning and motion capture of John and designed to look just like him with Unreal MetaHuman technology. After analyzing every single match from John’s career, each avatar was programmed with adaptive Artificial Intelligence, to think and play just like John. Finally, all of that programming was seamlessly incorporated into the avatar’s game play.

Every move is synchronized with an intricate ball-return system to accurately replicate McEnroe’s style of play from different years of his career. Carefully orchestrated ball launchers and robotic arms were used to simulate young McEnroe’s ball strokes. A specially designed particle-mist screen allowed the avatars to appear and play against John, with the avatars moving around the court and returning the ball.

We essentially created a gaming experience in the real world for everyone watching. By creating McEnroe’s avatars in the Metaverse, it allowed us to add a real-time animated XR layer of the avatar to the camera feed for the viewers watching at home, allowing us to supplement the traditional, everyday, tennis camera angles with angles that had never been possible in a real match before.

On April 21, the real and virtual worlds collided in a never-before-done combination of innovation at the live filming, serving up joy like it’s never-been-seen before.

This campaign launched only a few weeks ago, but it already looks set to become Michelob ULTRA’s next cultural juggernaut.

McEnroe vs. McEnroe has already surpassed all expectations. It’s been talked about in over 30 countries, has a 99% positive social sentiment, and ESPN liked it so much they gave us one hour of free media: showing the inherent cultural relevance and talkability of the idea.

The media reaction has been beyond our expectations. With over 120 media placements, the sentiment is summed up by Sports Illustrated, “This could be the future of sports”, and Yahoo!, “Reinventing Sports Entertainment.”

Importantly, the idea is also working for the brand. Since launch, organic searches for “Michelob ULTRA” have grown by 95%.

In research, the idea outperformed beer-industry benchmarks for attention and likability, both key relevance pillars.

And insight from the campaign is paving the way for revolutionary approaches in gaming and entertainment.