Sports and spirits have long been sideline companions, but beer has traditionally dominated the game-day menu. That’s changing as liquor brands make strategic plays to win over sports fans, expanding their influence from stadium bars to Instagram feeds.
This week alone saw three industry players make significant moves, including Pernod Ricard announcing Jameson as the official whiskey of Major League Soccer, Grey Goose partnering with the Australian Open, and Diageo launching a responsible drinking campaign with the NFL. These partnerships highlight a growing trend: Liquor companies are capitalizing on the massive reach of sports to shake up their brand presence, taking a shot at beer’s historically dominant role in the field.
On Wednesday, Grey Goose unveiled a new relationship with the Australian Open, opening serve with a citrus vodka libation that will be sold at the tennis tournament next month, and following a playbook popularized at the US Open, where the Honey Deuce cocktail courted celebrities like Taylor Swift and Serena Williams.
And liquor giant Diageo on Monday debuted a new safe drinking ad campaign called “Take a Minute. Make a Plan,” in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, ride-sharing operator Uber, and the National Football League, the latest activation between Diageo and the sports league.
The trio of announcements point to a growing trend among liquor brands to lure sports fans, taking a shot at a drinking occasion that has historically been dominated by beer brands like Budweiser and Miller Lite. Sporting events continue to draw large in-person crowds and millions of television viewers, even amid a fragmented media market, and liquor companies are doing more brand building by investing in TV advertising, promoting cocktails sold at stadiums, launching limited-edition branded bottles, and sponsoring tailgating parties.
“The reach of the NFL allowed us to activate our brands across all 50 states,” says Ed Pilkington, chief marketing and innovation officer for Diageo North America.
For Diageo, linking with the NFL was a slow burn. The league was reluctant to ink an official partnership with a liquor brand. For nearly 50 years, spirits companies adhered to a self-imposed restriction on any TV ads, partly due to concerns the ads could influence minors. But beer and wine companies weren’t as cautious, and over the decades, Budweiser’s Clydesdales and Miller Lite ads featuring prominent NFL stars flooded the airwaves. Beer quickly dominated at America’s largest stadiums.
Diageo began to open the door by inking partnerships with NASCAR and some NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. It also aired ads during NFL games, including a “Water Break” campaign in 2018 that reminded fans to stay hydrated and drink responsibly. Those actions built up enough goodwill for Diageo to become the league’s first-ever official spirits sponsor in 2021.
“Take a Minute. Make a Plan” aims to remind NFL fans to pace themselves during the game, avoid overconsumption, and not drive after drinking. “The idea was to make sure that when people go to a game, you think about how you get home safely,” says Pilkington.
For NFL activations involving alcohol, Diageo focuses efforts on Crown Royal whisky, Smirnoff vodka, and Captain Morgan rum, and promotes popular and accessible cocktails like the rum and coke and whisky on the rocks.
Pernod Ricard has worked with individual NFL teams over the past few years, including setting up branded bars in the stadiums where the New York Jets and Giants and Las Vegas Raiders play. “Sports is just part of the zeitgeist of the popular culture of the U.S.,” says Conor McQuaid, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America.
The partnership with the MLS will include limited-edition branded packaging, in-stadium promotions, marketing campaigns, and the promotion of the signature Jameson and ginger ale cocktail with a slice of lime. Jameson will also establish deeper integrated partnerships with six clubs, including the LA Galaxy and New York City FC, and the MLS relationship will extend at least through when the FIFA World Cup is held in North America in 2026.
McQuaid says the timing is right because of the rising popularity of both Irish whiskey and soccer.
“Jameson has been such a success story, driven by the U.S., and sparked a revival of a renaissance of Irish whiskey on a global level,” he says. “We’ve arrived at a point where we believe we have the scale in the marketplace to take on a national sponsorship.”
Bacardi-backed Grey Goose has been serving a massive hit with the Honey Deuce, having sold more than 2.8 million since the cocktail debuted in 2007. “You haven’t really been to the US Open unless you have a Grey Goose Honey Deuce,” says Aleco Azqueta, VP of marketing for the brand. “It’s really become what the mint julep has to the Kentucky Derby.”
Grey Goose says the cocktail’s pink tint has helped make it a hit on social channels like Instagram and TikTok, and the Honey Deuce’s commemorative cup, which is updated annually to reflect the prior year’s tournament winners, has led to a vibrant resale market online. Grey Goose says the Honey Deuce is the top-selling cocktail across all sports.
The vodka brand says it likes the US Open because of the prestige that comes with sitting alongside other luxury sponsors like Cadillac and Ralph Lauren. Grey Goose has also signed deals with several NBA teams, where it promotes the espresso martini and the more premium-priced Altius vodka. Bacardi also hopes to replicate the Honey Deuce success Down Under with the Lemon Ace, a mix of Grey Goose vodka, passionfruit syrup, and sparkling lemonade, garnished with a lemon ball and fresh mint.
“One thing we love about the Australian Open is that it is similar to the US Open, it has so much energy to it and it is not as stiff as some of the other tournaments,” says Azqueta.
Last year, Teeling signed a four-year agreement with the Notre Dame football team, combining two brands with shared pride in Ireland. The timing is especially fortuitous this year, as the Fighting Irish college football team has had a dominant season. “Thankfully with the luck of the Irish, they’re having a pretty good season,” says Jack Teeling, a founder of the whiskey brand.
Notre Dame had recently inked a beer partnership with Guinness and was on the hunt for a potential spirits tie-in when the team found itself in Ireland last year to play rival Navy. It also brought 30,000 fans along to Europe, calling attention to the loyalty Notre Dame commands.
This year, Teeling launched a Notre Dame-branded 24-year-old single malt, selling just 1,000 bottles at $500 apiece, and promotes the whiskey selectively in VIP and alumni areas of the stadium, not making it available to the younger student population.
“We’re not pushing the shots culture,” Teeling says. “We’re talking about elevated ways to enjoy Irish whiskey.”