Heineken Cites Authenticity In U.S. Soccer As Reason For Long-Term MLS Sponsorship

Fresh off its 5-year deal to sponsor MLS, Heineken Senior Brand Dir Quinn Kilbury said the beer brand opted to support U.S. soccer because it already has been developed as authentic. Heineken also has a sponsorship with the UEFA Champions League. “We wouldn’t sell any extra if we did an NFL sponsorship,” Kilbury said during a presentation at the ’15 Intersport Brand Engagement Summit in Chicago. Kilbury took a different approach with Newcastle, which has an edgier brand image in the U.S. market. He described an ambush campaign around the Super Bowl that was called “No Bollocks,” which he described as the British version of “No Bullsh*t." The low-budget campaign used actress Anna Kendrick to produce viral videos around the Super Bowl in '14. It also mocked competing brands like Stella Artois and Budweiser in online messages. “We couldn’t do that type of campaign with a brand like Heineken,” Kilbury said.