After a decade of declining sales, The Tales of Colt 45 had started to engage a new audience in the brand’s heritage while celebrating the pre-partying, post-partying, and intimate encounters unlikely to end in marriage spurred by Colt 45 nights out. Through our integrated campaign, we wove Colt into the lives of young, urban influencers and celebrated those moments that only Colt 45 could provide. Moving into year 2, we needed to build on that involvement and force reappraisal of the brand.

What better way to deepen involvement and force reappraisal at purchase than to use the can itself as a canvas for people’s stories? Working with Jim Mahfood, we created a line of limited-edition cans that allowed people to enjoy a Tale with every purchase. Each blended the heritage of malt liquor with modern and relevant scenes reflecting our new generation of drinkers. But we didn’t stop with our designs. To maintain momentum, we invited people to submit their own can designs. With this product extension, Tales deepened people’s brand connection while keeping close to the drinking experience and purchase.

The new cans gave distributors fresh news to share with retailers and gave consumers collectible pieces to seek out. In fact, they were so sought after that the cans sold out.