Coors Light Cracks Open a 'Tall Girl' Can for the Toronto Tempo

Coors Light's "Tall Boy" beer can now has a counterpart.

The brand introduced a limited-edition "Tall Girl" can to celebrate the first season of the Toronto Tempo, Canada's inaugural WNBA team.

The can takes inspiration from the familiar 473 mL "Tall Boy" beer sold at sporting events.

Tall Girl's release serves as a nod to basketball players and a public show of support for women's professional sports.

Notably, it's also the latest step in Coors Light's long-running connection to basketball.

The brand partnered with the Toronto Raptors for more than three decades and is now growing this presence into the women's game through the partnership with Tempo.

Michelle Ramos, senior marketing director of global brands at Molson Coors Beverage Company, shared her thoughts behind the move:

"The partnership represents a shared commitment to championing women's sports and elevating the fan experience both inside the arena and across the country during this historic inaugural season." 

For the Toronto Tempo, the collaboration is a physical marker of the growing commercial interest surrounding women's basketball in Canada.

Tall Girl came just weeks after Coors Light became the first official beer partner of the team.

"Bringing Coors Light on as the official beer of the Toronto Tempo is a testament to the growth and potential of the team and women's professional basketball in Canada," Team President Teresa Resch said in a statement.

Backing a team this early costs little now, and it buys the beer brand a founding-partner story it can tell for as long as the franchise lasts.

The Can Is Just the Start

Tall Girl cans will be available in limited quantities during Toronto Tempo home games on July 5 and July 8 at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

The release sits alongside a wider brand effort that includes in-arena beer sales, social media ticket giveaways, and fan-focused promos throughout the season.

Additionally, Coors Light is also backing the initiative with a $10,000 donation to the Tempo Basketball Foundation.

Founded last month, the foundation supports programs that create opportunities for women and girls through sport across Canada.

Overall, Tall Girl is proof that more brands are creating products and experiences that become part of the event itself.

Coors Light explored a similar idea earlier this year with its "Tallerboy" campaign tied to the World Cup.

Here, the product physically extended the campaign's "Coooors Call" concept into an oversized canister.

The Tall Girl can follows suit in how it uses packaging design as the creative centerpiece.

While Tallerboy leveraged a fan ritual into a product, Tall Girl uses naming and format to celebrate a new chapter in Canadian basketball.

Both efforts show that the brand is capable of doing more with its sports partnerships, creating unique product collectibles that spark interest and discourse. 

How Brands Are Growing With Women's Sports

Women's sports partnerships are becoming one of the most attractive opportunities for marketers looking to build relevance with dedicated communities.

Here are a few lessons marketers can take from the campaign:

• Make the partnership visible: A limited-edition product gives fans something concrete to associate with the sponsorship.
• Support the community and the event: While Tall Girl was made to drive fan interest, the foundation donation helps connect the campaign to a longer-term purpose.
• Give fans a reason to participate: Ticket giveaways and exclusive game-day availability create urgency and engagement among sports fans.

For an initiative centered on a simple can redesign, the Tall Girl creates several ways for fans to experience the partnership.

Our Take: Are Sports Partnerships Becoming Product Launches?

Sponsorships are slowly starting to resemble product development exercises, and, depending on how you look at it, this could be a good thing. 

We often see brands announce sports deals with a press release, a jersey patch, and a few social posts.

Coors Light instead created an object that can put a smile on any fan's face. 

In many ways, the Tall Girl can functions like a souvenir from a historical first WNBA season. 

And if the Toronto Tempo makes it big, then all eyes would be on Coors Light for being one of the brands that have been there since the start.  

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