In 2022, we teamed up with Michelob ULTRA to retain the crown as the country’s fastest-growing beer brand while increasing brand love with a new, younger audience. Rather than build that love from scratch, we chose to leverage the power of the NBA, with built-in love from 650 million fans – a younger, multicultural and hugely loyal audience. As the beer that stands for superior enjoyment, we chose the ultimate moment of superior enjoyment in sports – the NBA All-Star Game. With the NBA also celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022, it was the perfect chance for ULTRA to tap into NBA nostalgia to get people talking about the brand and enjoying a beer.

Our objectives were two-fold:

Build brand love through social conversation and PR coverage.

Drive sales in the Cleveland DMA during All-Star Weekend.

As a rookie sponsor of the NBA, the pressure was on for Michelob ULTRA to find a unique way to stand out from the crowded marketing around the league’s 75th anniversary All-Star Game.

While other brands celebrated generations of athletic achievement, we chose to celebrate athletic enjoyment and answer a 30-year-old question: In the fan-favorite 1993 game, NBA Jam, where do the players play when they’re done playing?

We partnered with the most iconic basketball game of all time, bringing a 1993 barcade to life, bridging the life of sports and gaming under one roof, one brand – all enjoyment.

Introducing Michelob ULTRA and NBA Jam – Enjoy It Like It’s 1993.

CONSUMER: While Michelob ULTRA’s “retain” target is identified as the 35+, co-ed, Caucasian consumer, our “recruit” opportunity lies directly with NBA fans ages 25-34 who are multicultural and in urban city markets.

STRATEGY: Of all sports, the NBA is the most associated with joy – from the style of play, to the culture around the sport, enjoyment shines through. And no moment encapsulates that joy into one weekend like NBA All-Star Weekend. So, as the beer champion of joy, Michelob ULTRA partnered with NBA Jam to bring “superior enjoyment” to All-Star Weekend.

We built hype for the collab with a 16-bit NBA Jam film starring ’90s all-stars heading to a bar to enjoy their very own post-game Michelob ULTRA NBA Jam cans.

We then sent out ’90s-inspired player bags packed with a comic book, classic gaming system, a custom 16-bit portrait, and of course our Jam cans, to the biggest names in sports.

On February 18, we launched the collab in Cleveland in select retailers and at a bar right outside Rocket Mortgage Arena called Boom Shaka Laka’s – a nod to one of NBA Jam’s most iconic phrases. The barcade, stocked full with Jam cans, featured a throwback merch store, an entire floor devoted to the game, and appearances from ’90s All-Stars and artists alike.

Fans at home could snag the cans for themselves through a ’90s-inspired microsite that featured additional retro gear.

Over the course of All-Star Weekend, we had 448M PR impressions and over 31K attendees to Boom Shaka Laka’s.

We received continued coverage and fan engagement during and well after All-Star Weekend, including:

240 Press Stories

36K Social Mentions

56M Earned Digital Impressions

Cementing Michelob ULTRA as an NBA sponsor also drove product sales, with 486 cases of ULTRA product sold over the course of All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.