America's Beer Slump Meets Its Biggest Test: Can the World Cup Get the Country Drinking Again?
Americans are drinking less beer than they have in decades. It's a slow, steady slide that has brewers, distributors, and bar owners worried. But this summer, the industry is betting big on a single event to reverse the trend: the FIFA World Cup 2026.
For the first time in a generation, the tournament is being hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. More games, friendlier time zones, and a home-field advantage for North American brands have created what many in the industry call a once-in-a-decade marketing moment.
Molson Coors North America CMO Sofia Colucci told Business Insider the company is making its largest media investment in a live sporting event in the last decade—despite not being an official World Cup sponsor. “In a time like this, it's actually that much more important to bring the creativity and the unexpectedness,” she said.
Mediaocean, a platform that manages ad placements across TV and digital, reports that the beer category is spending 20 times more on advertising for this year's tournament compared to Qatar 2022. Local TV ad buys in host cities are running 50% higher than in non-host markets, and Spanish-language spots—particularly from Mexican beer brands—have surged.
“If beer sales don't recover during the World Cup, then you would be pretty concerned about the beer industry,” said Bourcard Nesin, a beverages analyst at Rabobank. “It's a Super Bowl that lasts an entire month. It will certainly lead to an increase in sales. It's just a question of: Will it meet the very high expectations they set up for themselves?”
Molson Coors has 90 national spots planned across its Miller Lite, Topo Chico Hard, and Coors Light brands. One standout ad, “The Coooors Call,” has drawn comparisons to Budweiser's iconic “Whassup” campaign. But the company is also going local: partnering with Uber for branded shuttles in New York City, hosting watch parties with Chelsea Football Club in Chicago, and tapping influencers from the soccer podcast “Unfiltered.”
“We really see this as an opportunity to reach both our core drinkers as well as newer legal-age Gen Z drinkers alike,” Colucci said.
Data from Mintel shows that about half of soccer fans typically buy beer when attending matches—a higher rate than fans of football, basketball, baseball, or hockey. And according to Fifty5Blue, U.S. adults interested in the World Cup are more than four times more likely than the average American to watch games in a bar or other venue.
Mintel senior analyst Gabe Sanchez noted that soccer fans also over-index on what marketers call the “shoulder hours.” Sixty-five percent go out before kickoff, and 75% stay out after the final whistle. “That's significantly higher than fans of other major sports,” he said.
But not everyone is convinced the World Cup will be a cure-all. “Honestly, it feels like the industry is trying to force a party that people aren't sure they want to attend anymore,” said Mike Delgado, a 34-year-old bartender in Austin, Texas. “I see more people ordering mocktails or just soda water than I do pints. The whole ‘chugging again' thing feels like a fantasy from a boardroom, not a barstool.”
Others are more measured. “I think the World Cup will absolutely boost sales temporarily, but the real question is whether it changes habits,” said Laura Chen, a 28-year-old marketing analyst in Chicago who describes herself as a casual soccer fan. “I might have a beer at a watch party, but I'm not going back to drinking like I did in college. It's just not part of my life anymore.”
Molson Coors CEO Rahul Goyal has written about an “occasion problem” facing the beverage industry: people are simply hanging out together less often. The loneliness epidemic, he argues, is a buzzkill for beer sales. The World Cup, with its communal viewing parties and bar crawls, is seen as a rare chance to reverse that.
From Molson Coors to Heineken's “Fans Have More Friends” campaign and Budweiser's “Let It Pour,” beer marketers are leaning into the drink's power as a social connector—and increasingly highlighting their non-alcoholic options. Sanchez put it bluntly: “The World Cup winners among beer marketers will be the brands that understand that beer's future with younger consumers isn't about drinking more, it's about belonging more.”
That may be the industry's biggest challenge yet. Because even with a month-long Super Bowl on home soil, belonging isn't something you can buy in a 30-second spot.
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