Coors Banquet has debuted its “Protect Our Protectors” campaign. Created in partnership with the nonprofit Wildland Firefighter Foundation and agency Mischief, the campaign continues the brand’s support of firefighters while keeping an eye toward curbing climate change and creating a more sustainable beer.
Climate change has been a major factor in a drastic global increase in wildfires in recent years, and the effects on communities worldwide are seemingly endless.
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The campaign is accompanied by a video tribute featuring many real-life wildland firefighters commemorating the work they’ve done while acknowledging the toll the job can take.
The narrator says, “I know none of you are happy to be back here this year, but you are, and that says a lot.” The voiceover continues over harrowing scenes simulating a real-life wildfire, ending on the encouragement to support firefighters.
“From beginning to end of production, we were considerate about our environmental impact. Part of that meant shooting this without controlled burns—no real fire was used on set, and that was intentional,” Will Dempster, evp of production at Mischief, expressed in an interview.
“Instead, we got creative with smoke tubes and fake ash, which is made out of starch and is biodegradable. Any fire you see on screen was built in post with VFX,” He added.
“The shoot was all remote and generator-powered. Our crew was 29-strong and included real firefighters who were either active or retired. The equipment you see on camera is mostly their own. Thank you to all our partners who put in extra work, just because it was the right thing to do, to make this happen,” Dempster shared.
The campaign will feature a limited-edition Coors Banquet pack, a merch collaboration with Brixton, and a partnership with country music star Chase Rice that will see him taking a day of firefighter training. The campaign will run until Oct. 16, and Coors encourages additional donations to firefighters by donating at the official website of the campaign.
