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Why Coors Light is Featured on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

October 4th, 2010  |  Posted by The Efficient Drinker

I’ll preface by saying that Always Sunny is one of the best shows on TV right now and the recent “The Gang Buys a Boat” episode is among my favorites. However, this season’s Coors Light product placement is driving me nuts! Glenn Howerton, aka. Dennis, explains it like this:

explanation of Coors Light in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I’m not sure I understand why this is an “OR” statement. Would the show cease to exist without Coors? But I get his point. The main actors, who also created the show, probably didn’t make a whole lot for the first few years and they have a right to monetize.  That being said, I have 2 issues.

Coors Light in Always Sunny in Philadelphia

4 bottles, napkin holder, napkins, non sign -- all that's missing is Coors Light shirts

The first is a complete lack of subtlety. Would a bar really be sponsored almost exclusively by Coors Light? The signs, napkin holders, napkins, lightshade over the pool table, lack of other visible taps, etc. Would bar owners ever drink the same beer and that one beer all the time? Only if that beer was free, which doesn’t happen. With the copious amount of beer choices, they’d mix it up. And the prevalence of other characters (like the yacht guys drinking it), just throws Coors Light in your face.

The second is a matter of choice. Coors Light – WTF!! I lived in Philly for 9 years and can assure you that there’s no way in hell people drink that unless its on some stupid cheap special. I used to drink it in this place Lucy’s, because it was $2 pints all the time. It was a matter of wallet efficiency. But when you crossed the street to Drinkers, it was PBR cans because that’s what was cheap: $1 if shotgunned, $2 if consumed like a normal human being. At other dives, my friends and I drank 40s of High Life. The point is: nobody drinks Coors Light bottles in Philly dive bars, especially not in South Philly where Paddy’s is located. And worse, it’s not really believable that any of the characters, save the vain Dennis, would be drinking Coors Light. Remember, this is the crew that was drinking cheap wine out of a Diet Coke can.

What They Should Be Drinking

Bars in South Philly can be roughly divided up into two categories: Hipster bars and locals bars. Hipsters have moved into pockets of South Philly and are usually found drinking PBR,  other cans like Dale’s Pale Ale, or microbrews, such as those from the semi-local Victory Brewing Company. Considering that Paddy’s few customers are old guys, it’s not a hipster bar.

It’s a locals bar. Philly locals do drink cheap domestic beer, but not Coors Light bottles. Perennial favorites are Budweiser and Miller Lite. Bud Heavy is out because it’s already got the Entourage product placement. Miller Lite is an option. But the best choice would Yuengling, a step up from the mass-produced Miller. Yuengling is from eastern Pennsylvania and has a semi-national footprint. It’s the beer served at Philly-area college keg parties when trying to class it up from the usual Natty Light. Yuengling is so prevalent in the area that its flagship brand is simply referred to as “lager.” For It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Yuengling would’ve fit in seamlessly.

Maybe Yuengling had no interest in advertising through the show. Maybe they did, but their bid was significantly worse than Coors Light’s. I hate ranting on a show I enjoy, but I just wish they could’ve done a more realistic product placement, if one had to be done at all.

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48 Responses to “Why Coors Light is Featured on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”

  1. Bob says:
    October 13, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    I understand the thrust of your rant and as a fellow lover of the show it all makes sense. However I think you’re missing the point of product placements, they’re meant for the viewers. Which we can say include ALOT of beer drinkers, and alot of young men in their early-mid 20’s, with enough money to upgrade from “college” beers. Many of said drinkers can be or already are some of Coors Light’s biggest consumers and also largest target audience. An audience that you want to make an early impression with, in order to build a life long customer relationship. So yeah its not about being authentic, its about the money for the show (they deserve it, its hysterical), and the similar target audience interests for coors.

    btw Yuengling is my second favorite beer, and I do not like coors. But it makes business sense.

    cheers bob

  2. Justin says:
    November 5, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    I was wondering about that…you make some really good points. I still love the show and strongly believe it’s one of the best and most original shows around these days. Of course the cast does deserve to get paid, but I would rather have the advertising be separate from the show itself…regardless, it doesn’t really take away from my viewing experience. The show’s hilarious no matter what!

  3. Benjamin says:
    August 26, 2013 at 9:25 am

    Cool refreshing insights. Sorry I am still brainwashed by their advertising. As previously mentioned, my chief issue with Coors’ product placement is the inaccuracy of it all. As a frequent Canadian traveler venturing to Philly for some pub crawling, I seldom observed customers waiting in line for the next sweet tasting Coors light. Sure, at sporting events (where you could ONLY purchase Coors) but at local bars, NEVER.

    I not a fan of advertising and a few studies have shown that it doesn’t work on smart savvy people. I love the show, but if your going to advertise Coors light EVERY god damn show, you better be advertising something else from Colorado, MARYJANE!

    Good night everyone!

  4. andrew says:
    June 2, 2014 at 4:20 pm

    They didn’t allways drink coors, in first episodes it was budwiser, then budlight and now coors.. its all about who pays them more for advertisng of course. Who cares what beer they drink anyway like denis said, id rather see them drink any reall beer then something with a label that sais beer..

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  7. Adam says:
    February 9, 2015 at 2:39 am

    You make a good point. However, I’d, personally, never heard of Yuengling beer before I read this blog. If I’d seen it being drunk on the show, I’d just assume it was one of the numerous “fake” brands that they drink, such as Blind Fox. I’m not from Philly, however, South or otherwise. Locally, it may make sense, but I think Yuengling would have to go the more traditional route and just do commercials so that they can get a more national recognition. Coors is a more recognized brand, plain and simple. As the show is seen by people all over the country, it makes sense that a nationally recognized brand is used for product placement. Also, I’m not sure why you’d think it was out of character for the majority of the cast to be drinking Coors Light. It’s not exactly a high-end beer. Also, if you think about it, the fact that they ARE a South Philly bar serving Coors Light, it may be a bit of an in-joke as to part of the reason why they have so few patrons, if. As you say, nobody in South Philly drinks it unless there is some sort of special.

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  9. Aaron Anderson says:
    March 27, 2015 at 3:29 am

    The only brand that makes sense as it is a national brand is Victory but they are not know for spending a lot of money on advertising. Victory spends the majority of their money on the quality ingredients of the beer (the mantra more or less), but it would be pretty bad-ass to see them drinking some Golden Monkey or DirtWolf!

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  15. BMT says:
    November 29, 2016 at 8:49 am

    I had never tried Coors Light before watching Always Sunny and it has since become my favourite beer. This is the point of product placement and it doesn’t need any more looking into than that.

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    Again, it’s a case of who you know.While, it’s nice to share your methods, many sites have launched with referrals and most don’t do well, because they simply don’t have a team of people with friends and family that give a crap about what they do.What about the micropreneur, who’s family/friends don’t have a clue what they do? Think throwing up a referral site will do anything – Nope, again, they don’t know the right people in the beginning.These sites all work on the same simple principle – it’s all who you know.LikeLike

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    double opt-in is not a requirement in the US, it’s a courtesy, and preventative. That’s why a lot of ecommerce companies are opt out only.. You’ve discredited everything you’ve said with one sentence.LikeLike

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