Food & Beverage

Michelob Ultra targets Latino audience with Super Bowl ad

Key Points
  • Michelob Ultra sales grew by the double digits last quarter.
  • The beer brand plans to target U.S. Latino audiences with its Super Bowl ad released Friday.
  • The commercial features a cameo from Colombian singer Maluma.
Colombian singer Maluma stars in Michelob Ultra's Super Bowl ad.
Source: Michelob

Michelob Ultra is the fastest growing beer in the country, and it's looking to grow more by reaching out to Latino audiences with its Super Bowl ad.

U.S. beer sales by volume have been declining as more consumers reduce their consumption. Market research firm Mintel estimates that volume sales dropped by just under 1 percent in 2018, but Michelob Ultra saw sales grow by a double-digit percentage rate last quarter. The light beer, which has 8 calories per ounce, is succeeding by targeting health-conscious men and women older than age 25.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the brand's parent company, has purchased eight ads for the Super Bowl this year, the most in recent history. The company has turned to spending more on marketing in order to drive U.S. beer sales. Two of its Super Bowl ads are for Michelob Ultra beers.

The first ad, released Friday, shows a robot outrunning and outplaying humans in sports like golf and boxing, only to realize that it can't enjoy a beer with friends.

The ad ends with a cameo from Colombian singer Maluma opening the beer at a bar with friends. The musician's most popular song to date "Felices Los 4" has more than 1.4 billion views on YouTube.

"It's the beginning of the new partnership focused on engaging the U.S. Latino audience," said Azania Andrews, vice president of marketing for Michaelob Ultra.

Andrews said the beer is already popular with Latinos in certain parts of the country. The Super Bowl ad won't be the only effort to reach out to the demographic. Maluma will be promoting the beer throughout 2019 through additional content and events.

Anheuser-Busch will use its other Super Bowl ads to promote Michelob Ultra Pure Gold, Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois and Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer. One of its Budweiser ads, released Wednesday, promotes its use of wind power and brings back the brand's Clydesdale horses. The alcoholic beverage giant has also released its commercial for its hard seltzer, which shows two mermaids pitching the product underwater to sharks in a reference to the TV show "Shark Tank."

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."