Carlton Draught offers the Baggers faithful a branded opportunity to drown their sorrows
One of Australia’s most popular beers, Carlton Draught gave its hometown team the kiss of death towards the end of last week, prematurely launching the #Baggers22 limited edition slabs, before Carlton promptly threw away a shot at finals football yesterday afternoon.
Dr Mumbo enjoys the footy (and a beer), but even a non-sports fan could tell you that launching a celebratory beverage on the eve of a club’s biggest game in a decade is a bad idea.
Carlton’s dual premiership player, Stephen Kernahan
The Blues were pipped at the post 75-74 by their old rivals Collingwood, giving up a four-goal fourth-quarter lead, and in total four successive losses to end the season, in a result that may not have shocked anyone.
Dr Mumbo notes the club did deliver its best home-and-away win tally for 11 years though, as the beer producer paid tribute to the Blues, as it wrote: “Win or lose, let’s raise a Draught to the Blues and their best start to a season since 1996”.
After the brand said it would launch the cans should the social media post reach 10,000 likes last week, it stayed true to its word after it more than delivered on that target.
Dr Mumbo doubts the tinnies will be kept on display by many of the Baggers faithful
Carlton & United Breweries classic beers director (a brilliant job title, Dr Mumbo might add), Hayden Turner, said on Thursday: “After being inundated with responses, we can’t wait to see thousands of Carlton fans celebrate their return to the finals with a Carlton Draught in hand if they beat Collingwood.”
“We expect the cans to be extremely popular. If Carlton wins on the weekend, fans will be riding the wave of finals football with the limited-edition brew.”
Lucky for CUB, Turner was right. The 5,000 limited edition cases sold out over the weekend, just in time help Baggers fans through another footy-less September.
While the jokes will be made at the expense of Carlton, and understandably so, Dr Mumbo understands the rationale from one of the nation’s largest brewing companies.
Should they have waited to see if the Blues had secured its finals birth, it would have foregone a tasty $290,000 in extra revenue from the cases, each going for $58.
