Natural Light, a college-favorite beer, has signed its first athlete endorsement deal in decades.
The brand announced Thursday that it has signed 24-year-old golfer Smylie Kaufman, who graduated from LSU in 2014. Kaufman announced it to his followers on Twitter by surrounding himself with unopened boxes of Natural Light and on Instagram with his buddies, on vacation this week, each holding cans in their hands.
Regaining our lost love for Natural Light #NaturalLight #Boomtower #YaWelcome @naturallight @SmylieKaufman10 pic.twitter.com/IawRj88qj2
— Smylie's Army (@SmyliesArmy) August 11, 2016
"Smylie perfectly matches our consumer base," said Natural Light senior brand manager Mark Zarthar. "People who drink us work hard, but like to have a good time with their buddies."
The partnership with Kaufman comes as the brand is relaunching, adding a new tag line ("Brewed in America since 1977") and blowing up an Anheuser-Busch logo on the label, which Zarthar says conveys a greater feeling of trust to the brand's parent company.
Zarthar said Kaufman was targeted because the beer often finds its way to the golf course, despite the elite nature of the game and the value price of the beer.
Alcohol brands are limited because the four major team sports don't allow their players to be alcohol endorsers while being active players. That has limited alcohol sponsorship primarily to NASCAR drivers, tennis players and golfers.
Natural Light is one of only six U.S. domestic brands that sold more than $1 billion over the last year according to market tracking firm IRI Worldwide. Zarthar said while Natural Light is the sixth largest beer in the U.S. from a sales standpoint, it's fifth in market share.
Kaufman has one PGA Tour win, the Shriners Open last October. He missed the cut in three of the four majors this year.