Rocky Mountain News.com

Critics do double take at Coors twins' film role

October 29, 2003

Golden-based Coors Brewing Co. takes a strong public stand against advertising to underage drinkers, but some say Coors' latest film venture sends a different message.

On its Web site, Coors says it works to ensure that "advertising and marketing materials are directed to audiences with a majority of people of legal drinking age."

Yet Coors Light beer and its blond, identical twin pitch women appear in the PG-13 rated Scary Movie 3, last weekend's top grossing film at $49.7 million.

A PG-13 rating - which cautions parents that some material may not be suitable for preteens but doesn't restrict anyone from seeing it - came as a surprise to Coors, spokeswoman Hilary Martin said.

The California-based Marin Institute, a nonprofit aimed at reducing alcohol-related problems through prevention, is urging consumers to write to Coors Chief Executive Peter Coors.

Pre-written letters, available on the organization's Web site, urge Coors to stop using teen films to advertise beer.

"I'm sure Coors knew what it was doing," said Tiffany Steeves, a program assistant for the institute. "Kids love to go see movies - it's a shame they can't go see this one without Coors serving a beer chaser with it."

Coors, which last year signed a deal for its beer to appear in selected films by Disney-owned production companies Miramax and Dimension, has been seen in scenes from Duplex and View From the Top - both PG-13. Coors also appeared in the R-rated Gigli. No one under 17 is admitted to R-rated films unless accompanied by an adult.

Coors based its Scary Movie 3 decision on attendance figures for the first two films in the series, both of which were rated R, Martin said. Those figures showed that at least 70 percent of the films' audiences were over 21, she said.

The beer and the movie also banded together in joint television and radio commercials leading up to the film's opening week. One TV ad features shots of the twins and the beer interspersed with snippets of the movie, all to the tune of the now familiar I Love Twins jingle.

The commercials are likely to appeal to a young, quite possibly too- young, male audience, said Kathleen Kelly, a marketing professor at Colorado State University.

Advertising to underage drinkers was never the company's objective, said Martin, and Coors is anxiously awaiting data showing the makeup of the audience for this movie.

If it shows that mostly teens are viewing the movie, though, there's likely little the brewer can do about its appearance in this film, she said.

"Certainly we can do a better job for the future," she said. "This is a fairly new area we're exploring, and we want to be responsible and target our adult audience."

Product placement as a marketing tool has been growing rapidly in recent years as advertisers search for new ways to reach consumers who, increasingly, turn off or "TiVo away" traditional TV commercials.

"This has become an increasingly important promotional strategy to try to get product placement in movies consistent with the audience they're trying to reach," said CSU's Kelly.

"Even though a lot of those audience members aren't legally of age, it doesn't mean they don't consume the product and that their attitudes aren't being shaped at this age. They've already established this brand image, much as Coke or Pepsi or products that are less controversial are trying to do."

forgrievej@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5191