The Anheuser Busch Ritas line of flavored, sparkling margaritas will target football fans this season with their newest flavor, Berry-A-Rita.
The programming recognizes that nearly half of the NFL audience is female, the company says, a viewer segment that continues to grow.
Ahead of the 2018 NFL season, Ritas will launch a series of campaigns across TV, digital and social channels to target the tailgating and viewing party occasions, as well as play in the popular football pool culture for a chance for fans to win season and playoff tickets.
Ritas has teamed up with former NFL quarterback Matt Leinart to market Berry-A-Rita on TV. The spot opens in a backyard with Leinart and The Ritas, introduced earlier in the year as “legendary ladies who have lived life and know how to have a good time,” drinking Ritas. The Ritas show Leinart how to “Hail Berry,” a play on the Hail Mary pass.
The spot will run across NBC, FOX, CBS and NFL Network during NFL programming from Sept. 6 through Sept. 30, and will be supported through additional paid social media and earned media campaigns.
Launched on Sept. 3, Ritas tapped Funny or Die to produce a short webisode series showcasing the Ritas selecting their teams for a football pool. With each pick, the Ritas will choose a team in an “obscure and Rita-esque way.” The webisodes will be amplified across the brand’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels, driving consumers to make their own picks for the week.
Each week, beginning Sept. 3 and ending on Oct 11, @TheRITAS will tweet a matchup for the week and will allow fans to submit their pick. If they answer correctly, they’ll be entered into a drawing for two regular season tickets. After the six weeks, everyone who answered correctly in the previous weeks will be placed in a pool to win a grand prize of two playoff tickets.