The beer industry has been hit hardest as alcohol sales have dipped the past few years in the U.S., and this trend was reflected in this past NFL season’s ad performance: Liquor brands took the top four spots on EDO’s list of the most effective Alcohol advertisers during the 2024-25 regular season.
Vodka heavyweight Smirnoff led the way in our rankings, which are based on each brand’s ability to drive consumer engagement behaviors that predict future sales, such as brand searches and website visits. It was followed by Crown Royal, Patrón, and Jameson.
You can find the full category breakdown, as well as the rest of our in-depth data for the entire season, in our 2024-25 NFL TV Outcomes Report, but we’ve distilled the biggest Alcohol takeaways below.
Smirnoff and Crown Royal drink up the engagement
Given its place as the league’s official vodka sponsor, it’s no surprise Smirnoff did so well during NFL games. The 2024-25 season was the second straight year the brand was most effective among NFL Alcohol advertisers, with ads that were 421% more effective than the average category advertiser during the regular season.
Whiskey brand Crown Royal also had a big year, jumping 10 spots year-over-year to the No. 2 most effective advertiser on the list. Patrón tequila jumped seven spots to No. 3, and Jameson jumped five spots to No. 4.
Meanwhile, each of the beer brands in the top 10 fell several places from the year before, as did the sole wine brand, Barefoot. AB InBev’s vodka seltzer brand NÜTRL, launched in late 2021, was a newcomer to the top 10 this year.
Crown Royal nets top ad with 18-wheeler full of whiskey
Crown Royal’s “The Royal Rig” 15-second spot was impressively 1,495% more effective than the average Alcohol ad during the regular season. Featuring an 18-wheeler with two gargantuan faux-casks loaded with sweet Canadian whiskey, the ad encouraged viewers to visit a site to track when the truck would be making its way to a city near them — and it worked!
Corona claimed the No. 3 spot with “Palm Tree Christmas” (+330%), Modelo nabbed the No. 4 spot with “Bring the Flavor” (+248%), and Jameson closed out the top five creatives with “Secrets of the Black Barrel” (+220%).
Category winner Smirnoff’s “We Do Game Days,” featuring actor Anthony Davis, may not have driven as much engagement as Crown Royal’s rig campaign, but outperformed the average NFL Alcohol ad by 421% and the average NFL ad across all categories by +150%.
Invest in your NFL advertising strategy with TV outcomes data
The NFL season, from preseason through the Super Bowl, remains the gold standard for TV audience engagement, whether viewers are kicking back with a vodka soda or a Coca-Cola.
At EDO, we’re dedicated to providing our clients looking to tap into this audience with the most accurate and actionable data, based on our proprietary TV outcomes data.
With another NFL season just on the horizon, download the free 2024-25 NFL TV Outcomes Report and get ready to edge out the competition regardless of which industry you’re in.