Labatt USA: Rolling Rock Ads campaign

Robert Schnakenberg

In 1998, sales of Rolling Rock beer, produced by the brewer, Labatt USA, were stagnating. Craft beers from microbreweries were also falling out of favour and Labatt believed it could take advantage of the situation and increase Rolling Rock’s sales by 5%.

Labatt USA: Rolling Rock Ads campaign

Robert Schnakenberg

OVERVIEW

NOTE: Also see essay for InBev USA.

In February 1998 Labatt USA, a division of Labatt, Inc., of Canada, increased its ad spending by 40 percent as part of a five-year plan to become the largest import/specialty beer marketer in the United States. A good portion of the increase was spent on an aggressive marketing push for Rolling Rock, a product of the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although Rolling Rock was the company's premier domestic brand, it was beset by stagnant sales. Labatt USA charged the New York-based ad agency Ammirati Puris...

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