Dive Brief:
- Canned cocktail brand Cutwater is taking the stress out of summer hosting with a new campaign featuring “The White Lotus” actor Parker Posey and spotlighting its Long Island iced tea product, according to a press release.
- At the center of “The Longest Island” is a social media effort heavily featuring Posey and a giveaway for a kitchen remodel. The campaign includes paid media, influencer partnerships and social media content.
- The effort comes as Anheuser-Busch InBev, Cutwater’s parent company, saw its Beyond Beer portfolio grow 37% year-over-year on a revenue basis in the first quarter of 2026, per an earnings release.
Dive Insight:
Cutwater’s “The Longest Island” is meant to show off the quality and experience of the brand, which are both AB InBev priorities, per Michel Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev in an earnings call with investors.
The partnership with a popular actor like Posey arrives at a time of growth for the Cutwater brand, which is a key part of AB InBev’s Beyond Beer portfolio and is the top share gainer in the spirits industry, per an earnings transcript. In March, the brand was part of a larger deal with the MLB to make the beverage giant the Official Vodka and Tequila Canned Cocktail Sponsor of the league.
AB InBev’s Beyond Beer portfolio growth was driven in part by the popularity of Cutwater in the U.S., which saw triple-digit revenue gains in Q1. The brand was also the third largest contributor to global revenue growth for the company overall in the same period. The company saw an overall Q1 YoY revenue increase of 5.8%.
Canned cocktails have largely been targeted at Gen Z and millennials, especially as the younger demographic drinks less overall.
At the center of the campaign is a minute-long video featuring Posey at an unusually long kitchen island, a play on words on the name of the featured cocktail flavor. During the video, Posey lists off the ingredients of a Long Island iced tea before saying she prefers to do the Parker Pour, which is simply pouring a can of Cutwater’s Long Island iced tea over crushed iced and adding a few garnishes. The creative is meant to show how hosts can still serve cocktails at their gatherings while also enjoying themselves.
To encourage social media interaction, the brand is running a sweepstakes where consumers can enter to win $10,000 to upgrade their kitchen island or other hosting setup, as well as a year's supply of Cutwater Long Island iced teas. In order to enter, consumers will need to follow the brand and comment #CutwaterLongestIsland and #Sweepstakes.
