November 20, 2025Keith Gribbins
Garage Beer pulled off one of the biggest marketing wins of 2025. Yesterday, the light lager brand won the public vote in Ad Age’s 2025 Marketer of the Year poll. It wasn’t close either — the brand earned nearly 70 percent of the vote. Garage Beer surged past global giants like American Eagle, Netflix, OpenAI, Chili’s, YouTube and more, turning a small, self-aware light lager into the most celebrated marketer on one of advertising’s biggest stages. For a category fighting to stay culturally relevant, a brand built on humor, simplicity and rapid-fire creativity just outworked and out-rallied some of the world’s most powerful companies.
“It reinforces something we’ve always believed: great marketing isn’t about out-spending anyone, it’s about creating work that genuinely resonates,” explained Garage Beer’s VP of Marketing Jay McDonald. “We work hard to be ourselves and do what we like, but to also keep building on the genuine relationship we have built with our fans and followers. Some brands invest more in a single campaign than we have spent since we started, but our community shows up for us because they feel connected to the content, the voice, and the experience we try to build every day.”
Beating giants for Marketer of the Year
Ad Age’s Marketer of the Year list is usually dominated by global heavyweights. This year’s ballot was no different. Garage Beer went head to head with:
- American Eagle Outfitters
- Chili’s Grill & Bar
- Fanatics
- Instacart
- Jellycat
- Netflix
- OpenAI
- Rhode
- YouTube
These brands launched Super Bowl spots, billion-dollar beauty deals, NFL streaming milestones and global entertainment franchises. Garage Beer answered with one light lager, a Kelce-powered content universe and a rabid online community.
The American Eagle controversy in the room
The most polarizing name on the ballot might be American Eagle. Its “great genes / great jeans” Sydney Sweeney campaign drew immediate backlash, with critics accusing the brand of flirting with eugenics language. The controversy then flipped. Conservative commentators and political figures championed the ads, even as social feeds argued over the intent and impact. In the end, it pushed revenue and net income above the prior year, according to its entry. That is the level of cultural heat Garage Beer is competing with — and, in this fan vote, overpowering.
“The other brands are legitimate household names,” said Garage Beer Chief Creative Officer Corey Smale. “They’re huge…monolithic, and have a lot going on. Whereas we’re small, fast, and a little insane, which means we can prioritize things like this. With AdAge making this a fan vote, we’re leaning all the way into it. We win on social media, on the internet, in the niches that other big brands can’t necessarily reach. While those brands are obviously more familiar to the masses, we’re making a name for ourselves by staying fresh, never settling, and always turning ‘What if we did this?’ into ‘Yo, this is good, let’s do this now.’”
A year of absurd but disciplined marketing
Garage Beer’s 2025 run has been relentless and weird in equal measure. A few highlights:
- BREWMITE and BREWMITE II — A two-part martial arts mini-movie series starring Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce and Chuck Liddell. The films turn a simple light lager into a VHS-era fight saga and drew coverage from mainstream outlets like People. Watch it above.
- BeerBed — A one-of-a-kind queen bed with a built-in kegerator and tap in the headboard. The giveaway became one of the most talked-about beer promos of the summer and helped push Garage Beer deeper into pop-culture media.
- Thermal Buzz x Predator: Badlands — A parody action short made with 20th Century Studios that extended the brand’s movie spoof universe and tied into a major horror franchise release.
- CanHeld Rake — A rake with a built-in beer holder launched with infomercial-style content, keeping the “stupid genius” product streak going after BeerBed.
Layer on smaller stunts — sunscreen drops to collabs with White Castle — and the picture gets clearer. The brand makes one simple beer and treats every campaign like an entertainment concept, not just an ad buy.
“Our size is our biggest advantage and disadvantage,” sad Smale. “Being small helps us do a lot of different things quickly, whether it’s working with White Castle on a collab, creating actual garage door openers or filming legitimate movies with Jason [Kelce]. The spirit behind what we do is a personal mission of our creatives — to put a brand out into the world that they would enjoy themselves.”
Garage Beer thrives in a tough craft beer landscape
Garage Beer’s rise comes at a time when most of the craft beer industry is fighting headwinds. Taproom traffic is uneven. Distribution costs keep climbing. Shelf resets favor RTDs, spirits and NA brands. Many small breweries are tightening portfolios, scaling back experiments and looking for ways to reconnect with drinkers who feel overwhelmed by choice.
“This is a clear sign that not only are there still plenty of beer drinkers out there, there’s also a real appreciation for — and longing to see — brands that have fun and stay true to themselves,” said CEO Andy Sauer. “We’re okay making fun of ourselves, being a little dumb, trying new things, and pushing the limits a bit. At the end of the day, that’s what you’re doing with your buddies in the garage over some cold ones. We’ve brought that spirit to life, and we can’t wait to keep fans on their toes next year.”
Garage Beer has cut through that noise by doing the opposite of overcomplicating things. It brews one light beer (with a lime option) and pours all of its energy into brand clarity. The beer is simple. The storytelling is big. That contrast resonates with drinkers who want something familiar but still fun. It also gives the brand room to operate like a content studio, not a brewery with 15 rotating SKUs.
At a time when many craft brands are searching for a spark, Garage Beer found one in personality, consistency and speed. Even in a tough market, a simple beer with a strong identity can still break through — and, sometimes, beat the biggest names in marketing.
“We [beer] have been counted out so many times and yet here we are,” said Smale. “I think it shows that consumers love self-aware brands, they don’t want beer to be so serious or only about one thing. They just want it to taste good, be something you enjoy with friends, and for the marketing to be fun.”
Football stars Jason and Travis Kelce become co-owners of Ohio’s Garage Beer
