ADdicted: Ovechkin and the Kings of Zero

Want a great example of a marketing team acting fast to be a part of a cultural moment?

After longtime NHL phenom Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal to beat Wayne Gretzky's longstanding record and become the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history...

... Budweiser sent a limited-edition gift to the 28 goalies that Ovechkin DID NOT score against during his impressive career.

The gift was a special commemorative can of Budweiser ZERO, which came in a special box that read: “The greatest goal scorer of all time couldn’t score on these kings of zero.”

Each can was personalized with each goalie's "shots against" Ovechkin and the resulting goals scored (which, for all 28 goalies, was "0").

Former National Hockey League (NHL) goalie Curtis "Cujo" Joseph, below, posted a photo of himself on the social media platform "X" holding the commemorative can along with this caption: Congrats to the greatest goal scorer of all time @ovi8. Feeling very lucky to have NOT been a part of it! 2 shots, 0 goals.

(After hearing about the promotion and Cujo's response, Ovechkin cheekily replied, "Thx u!! I probably score goal on next shot but u retired !!')

The fact that Budweiser moved so quickly to tie Ovechkin's career achievement to the brand's alcohol-free offering was perfect.

But even more perfect was the response from NHL goalie Eddie Lack, who did NOT get a special can. When he heard about the gift, he posed this on X:

This is bulls—t. If I knew there was beers involved I would’ve tried harder.

Then he wrote:

How about Ovi sending me a “thank you for sucking and letting those 4 goals in otherwise I’d still be 3 behind Gretzky” beer.

Needless to say, those quips went viral, significantly amplifying Bud's creative idea.

It's unusual for a brand and its agency (in this case, Anomoly) to move quickly enough to capitalize on cultural moments this well.

And it's even more unusual for the tie-in to be so appropriate for the brand, rather than the brand trying to force-fit themselves into a moment simply because they want to be there.

But when you're strategic and able to act quickly, great things can happen.

There's ZERO doubt about that.

(Kudos to everybody involved in this promotion.)