Beer Makers Turn to Fitness. NewsWire

NewsWire: 5/22/21

• Beer companies are increasingly mixing beer with “wellness.” New ad campaigns for Michelob Ultra and Coors Pure link drinking with running, bike-riding, and being outdoors. (Advertising Age)
• NH: Did you use your rowing machine today? You may be eligible for a free beer. Michelob Ultra, owned by AB InBev (BUD), will give consumers a five dollar gift card for submitting pictures of themselves working out. In a similar ploy last month, Molson Coors (TAP) offered consumers $15 Mastercards if their jogging route mimicked a beer bottle.
• This isn’t the first time major beer brands have tried to connect athleticism with beer. In the 1980s, Busch targeted Boomers with an ad campaign depicting cowboys cracking a cold one after a rugged day of work. But while those ads were full of macho ranchers and Stetsons, these recent campaigns focus on a more genteel and "metro" ethic of personal goal setting. Jogged five miles after a long day of remote working? You deserve a beer.
• In recent years, these beer brands have struggled to attract Millennial consumers. Gone are the days when young Boomers grabbed a cheap drink after work and partied hard. Today’s young adults prefer microbreweries and local brands. If they are going to drink beer at all, they want a hoppy IPA, not a watered-down lager. But by connecting cheap/low-cal beers to wellness, the big beer brands hope to upgrade their respectability among Millennials. They don't have many good options, but IMO this may be their best shot.

Did You Know?

• It’s Official: Colorectal Cancer Screening Age Drops. An influential federal task force composed of medical experts is recommending that adults should start getting screened for colorectal cancer screening at age 45, not 50. The new recommendation, which was just published in JAMA, updates guidelines from five years ago, which concluded that beginning screening earlier would provide only “modest” benefits. It aligns with the latest guidance from the American Cancer Society, which since 2018 has said that screening should begin at age 45, given that rates of colorectal cancer have been rising steadily among Millennials and late-wave Xers—on average, by about 2% each year for those under 50. (See “Colorectal Cancer on the Rise.”) The task force recommends six types of tests, including colonoscopies and stool-based tests. This move is poised to broadly expand access to care, because insurance companies typically decide what to cover based on what the USPS task force recommends. They have a year to extend coverage based on the new guidelines.