Coors Light turned an event only they could own into a meaningful commemorative campaign for fans to experience. Shohei Ohtani, the greatest player in baseball, broke a Coors Light ad with a foul ball, leaving a black square of dead pixels on the can. Rather than fix the embarrassing flaw, fans were given the chance to experience and keep a piece of it for themselves with a special edition can that replicated Ohtani’s broken ad. To build on the experience, the black square was added to existing Coors Light ads, including every screen inside Angel Stadium during a live game.

Shohei Ohtani is one of the world’s most celebrated athletes and is widely considered by experts to be the greatest player in baseball history. Never before in the modern era of baseball has a professional player attempted pitching and hitting full-time, let alone succeed in doing so. Thanks to his unique skill, he is currently the highest-paid athlete in the world.

Over the past 30 years, Coors Light's biggest competitor had spent millions to insert itself into the identity of Major League Baseball and its fans. However, the sport itself is actually the perfect drinking occasion for Coors Light.

Baseball is a slow-paced game, and its spectators often suit the profile of the brand's primary target—those looking for moments to chill, unwind, and get together with close friends. Coors Light's challenge was finding a way to connect with this audience, who embodied the brand's values but were already spoken for.

The perfect moment arrived with one swing of a bat. During a game, Shohei Ohtani, the greatest player in baseball history, broke a Coors Light ad with a foul ball, leaving a black square of broken pixels right on the can. What Coors Light did in response captured the attention of baseball fans around the world.

The black square on Coors Light’s broken ad went viral around the world, spreading videos and images of the embarrassing flaw worldwide. But instead of fixing it, the brand embraced it. With $0 in sponsorships or player endorsements, Coors Light used the moment to create an experience that fans could share with the greatest player in baseball history, Shohei Ohtani.

Baseball fans are deeply attached to the game and its players, making memorabilia highly valued. They enable fans to make tangible connections to cherished moments, show their fandom and relive the excitement they experienced. With a newer generation of socially connected fans, viral moments can shape memorabilia. When the world started talking about Ohtani’s ad-breaking foul ball, the brand took it as an opportunity to get in on the conversation with their own collectible.

With little time to develop a robust media distribution plan, Coors Light selected high-impact placements to promote its special edition cans. As fans already followed the buzz across social media, the brand immediately shared its special edition can replicating the moment on Instagram X and Facebook, announcing it was available for purchase for a limited time. It also innovatively used its own existing media to create new ads for the campaign.

Coors Light rapidly responded to a viral moment that left an embarrassing flaw on their ad and turned it into an experience for baseball fans. The brand created a special edition can, replicating the moment fan-favourite player Shohei Ohtani broke their ad, allowing fans to add it to their baseball collection forever. Coors Light furthered the experience by surprising fans with the same black square all over their existing ads and even used the purposefully flawed ad to take over every screen during a live event inside Angel Stadium.

Ohtani's fans in his home country, who were also eager to join in, demanded the release of Coors Light in Japan, leading to the brand bringing its cans there for the first time ever. Coors Lights Out made brand history, turning an event that happened on its own soil into a global experience.

The campaign went viral overnight. Initially launching in the U.S., Coors Lights Out became a global phenomenon on social media and generated media coverage in design, lifestyle, and sports outlets worldwide. Coors Light even trended higher than the official beer of baseball.

The special edition cans quickly sold out in under 24 hours. The demand was so high that fans added their own black squares to existing cans, merch, and anything else with the Coors Light logo. Even the broken panel itself became a piece of baseball memorabilia that was auctioned off to collectors for over $7,000.

Ohtani's fans in his home country were also eager to participate in the experience. So Coors Light made brand history by bringing its cans to Japan for the first time ever.