UPDATE: Feb. 2, 2022: Miller Lite’s Meta Lite Bar will open its virtual doors on Feb. 7 at 8 a.m. EST, per a press release. The digital bar is meant to mimic the look of a classic tavern. Between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13, an average of 10 patrons daily will win $500 in cash — not cryptocurrency — that can be used to stock up on Miller Lite products for their Super Bowl watch parties.

Dive Brief:

• Miller Lite is partnering with metaverse company Decentraland to bring a virtual bar to patrons during Super Bowl LVI, according to news emailed to Marketing Dive.
• The metaverse bar will be the only place where people can view Miller Lite's ad that will run adjacent to the sporting event. There will also be hall of fame rewards for select patrons.
• The metaverse bar offers Miller Lite a way around Anheuser-Busch InBev's Super Bowl alcohol marketing exclusivity that began in 2010.

Dive Insight:

Outside of premiering an advertisement for the Molson Coors-owned brand, the virtual space with Decentraland will be available for patrons to gather in real time for a communal bar experience.

In 2010, Anheuser-Busch InBev replaced Molson Coors as the official alcohol sponsor of the NFL. The deal was due to expire in March 2022, but was extended another five years. Under the agreement, Anheuser-Busch InBev will no longer have total alcohol exclusivity, however, it will retain rights to beer and hard seltzers. Diageo became the first ever spirits sponsor of the league in 2021.

Since 2010, Molson Coors has been unable to advertise during the big game, which took in 96.4 million viewers last year. Entering the metaverse gives Miller Lite an innovative way to participate in the sporting event. By partnering with Decentraland, Miller Lite gains access to a tentpole viewing event that it has been unable to participate in for more than a decade. Previous Miller Lite commercials included public figures such as Eddie Rabbitt, John Madden, and Rodney Dangerfield.

Decentraland is a space where users can buy and sell virtual plots of land and other digital goods as nonfungible tokens (NFTs). In addition to Miller Lite, Decentraland has hosted other brands such as the auction and private sales company Sotheby's. Recently, Publicis worked with Samsung on a Decentraland experience as well.

With the Decentraland Bar, Miller Lite joins the growing list of alcohol brands leaning into digital consumerism. For example, Patrón unveiled a limited-edition NFT that can only be purchased from the direct-to-consumer alcohol and spirits NFT marketplace BlockBar.