Golf is a sport of tradition, with stuffy rules and historically stuffy characters. However, today’s game looks different. The sport is undergoing a massive cultural revolution, becoming more inclusive, accessible and joyful.

A 20-year partner of the PGA Tour, Michelob ULTRA took inspiration from this cultural shift. As the brand that claims “It’s Only Worth It If You Enjoy It,” ULTRA had an authentic chance to amplify the joy of this cultural shift in a sporting world they’ve long played in.

Netflix took notice of this change in golf too, preparing to release a highly anticipated golf docu-series, Full Swing, all about this new era.

With combined stakes in introducing the sport’s new era to the world, the brands partnered in a campaign to launch Full Swing in a brand new way.

Breaking the normal conventions of entertainment launches, while ensuring the release was widely accessible were tall orders. Ones that required the biggest stage - Super Bowl LVII.

With hundreds of millions tuning in, and needing to cut through the game’s ad clutter, ULTRA and Netflix knew a simple announcement wasn’t enough. So they didn’t just announce the show’s release. In a co-branded ad, the show was pre-released (a first in Netflix history), made available right then and there, all through… a beer can.

ULTRA and Netflix together made entertainment release history through the show’s pre-release, doing so on a historic stage and in a totally unexpected way. A Michelob ULTRA can was the ticket to watch Full Swing - having that in your hand became your subscription, and opened up access to a much wider array of people.

Breaking the normal conventions of entertainment launches, while ensuring the release was widely accessible were tall orders that required the biggest stage, with the biggest reach - Super Bowl LVII.

A simple announcement wasn’t enough, so they didn’t just announce the show’s release. In a co-branded ad, the show was pre-released (a first in Netflix history), made available right then and there, all through… a beer can.

QR codes have boomed since COVID-19 began, and like seen with Coinbase in 2022, they have a place in marketing. However, unlike Coinbase, the mission at hand was accessibility, and showing a QR code during a commercial wasn’t enough. It needed to live in ways more people could experience it.

ULTRA and Netflix reinvented how scaled a QR code approach can be through the pre-release. Michelob ULTRA can was the ticket to watch Full Swing - having one in hand became a subscription.

For the first time ever, Michelob ULTRA and Netflix released a blockbuster show through a beer can - and they did it during Super Bowl LVII.

During the game, a co-branded spot showed ULTRA’s famous athlete roster and golf star Rickie Fowler enjoying a sneak peek of Full Swing; by scanning the ULTRA can at the end, viewers got access to the show’s first episode. Not only was the show released early on ad-land’s biggest stage, but it was done so in an unexpected way that viewers could take advantage of through the commercial, and off the screen.

Because it wasn’t just the commercial’s can. Any ULTRA can in the country could be scanned for episode access, in a full product takeover that gave unprecedented commercial scale to this partnership, and brought Full Swing to consumers in new ways.

The new media approach to this entertainment launch helped contribute to a staggering 11 billion PR impressions for Michelob ULTRA’s overall SB campaign - making it the largest in Anheuser-Busch history.

The QR code delivered, with over ⅓ of scanners watching Full Swing’s first episode, reeling in an impressive conversion from scan to view. Even those who didn’t tune in were extremely active on MU’s website: on SB Sunday, site requests increased 15-fold compared to 2022.

To date in 2023, 40% of ULTRA site traffic has been due to the QR code, and over 95% of QR code scanners are net new users on the ULTRA site.

By opening up access and cascading it far and wide with ULTRA cans, Full Swing was exposed to the masses. Oh, and Full Swing became a Top 3 TV Show in the U.S. the week after the Super Bowl, per Netflix.