AdMiration feature: Corona’s “Equity Extension Cord”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Corona’s “Equity Extension Cord” ad, which promotes their classic Corona Extra Mexican lager for the upcoming summer months. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a shot of a classic orange extension cord plugged in by a windowsill leading outside, with the sounds of city life in the air. The camera follows the cord out the window and up a set of rooftop stairs to a large fan. As the scene zooms out, viewers can see that it is set up in front of two men on the rooftop in lawn chairs next to a large Corona cooler.

The narrator comes in and states, “Paradise doesn’t always have palm trees ” as one of the men sprays mist towards the fan and reaches for his bottle of Corona Extra. As soon as he pushes the lime into the bottle, it fizzes, and the scene is transported to a beachfront and the word “La Playa Awaits” appears onscreen next to the brand’s logo, as beach sounds now fill the air.   

3 facts

• “Equity Extension Cord” performed exceptionally well in driving short term sales (sales Impact: 94) and long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 92), ranking in the top 10% of US ads.

• The ad successfully generated powerful brand connection and brand recall (77% vs. 68% norm). This strong branding comes from a combination of the role the brand plays in transporting them to their own corner of paradise and the strong and consistent DBAs used. 

• The ad is highly relatable and likeable ( with Relevance: 3.8 significantly above the 3.6 norm and Overall Emotion: 62 significantly above the 56 average). People like both the relatability of the scenario and the executional delivery of the story with its fun sense of humor and peak of love at the end as they find their own piece of paradise within the city. People really liked and understood Corona's message, with many talking about “making a paradise of where you are,” “small oasis in a big city,” “relax and pretend you're on the beach wherever you are.” 

2 learnings

• Having a consistent brand platform can act as a DBA alongside physical and audio cues. In this case, the brand platform of the beach is clearly Corona and is spontaneously mentioned by 9% of people as the reason they know it's a Corona ad. The brand platform is then executed with its trademark visual assets like the lime and the bottle so most people know immediately the ad is for Corona.

• Sounds can play a strong role in ads, in addition to music. In this case, there is minimal dialogue and no music to be heard, but the brand taps into key sounds to help tell a story. From the city sounds at the start of the ad, to the trademark fizz of a lime dropping into a Corona, which transports you to a beachfront with sounds of waves crashing, the brand not only taps into a key product trait but also tells a story of the feeling you get once you open a bottle. 

1 reflection

Do you prioritize ensuring your ads are simple and yet emotive and clear? This ad is a great example of starting with the simple brand platform of the spirit of the beach and then executing with a short, clear story which is highly relatable, full of DBAs and leaves people on a real high (as well as feeling that Corona is very refreshing). This is a lot to achieve in just 15 seconds and is only possible because of the simplicity of the story.

Corona’s “Equity Extension Cord” was created as part of their La Playa Awaits campaign and brand platform created by a new agency GSD&M. 

This campaign reasserts Corona's equity in the beach and the beach mindset, celebrating a sunny, sandy lifestyle even if the closest beach is 300 miles away.

The campaign premiered on MLB’s 2025 opening day and features extensive sports integrations, increasing its investments in various sports arenas like its MLB spend by 66%, NBA spend by 40% and WNBA spend by 69% to support the campaign.  

As an additional layer, the brand is sponsoring a YouTube livestream with sports commentator Jomboy and will host an ESPN augmented reality takeover during the opening game for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Corona will also launch a new content series integrated into MLB’s El Beisbol es Otra Cosa campaign, created to celebrate Latine culture in baseball. 

Beyond sports, the brand will also be integrated with season two of the popular HBO series “The Last of Us.”

Jay Russell, Chief Creative Officer at GSD&M, shares: "Corona has always been about more than just a beer—it’s about the beach mindset. La Playa Awaits takes that idea beyond the sand, proving that the feeling of effortless connection isn’t tied to a place, it’s a way of life. No matter the occasion, the mindset is always within reach."

Corona’s “Equity Extension Cord” ad resonated well with consumers, scoring in the top 10% of US ads in potential to drive short term sales (Sales Impact: 94) and long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 92). 

Interestingly, even though only two men were featured as the main characters in the spot, the ad scores slightly better among females (Sales Impact: 97 and Brand Impact: 95) than males (Sales Impact: 86, Brand Impact: 86). 

The ad delivered a very strong brand recall score (77% vs. 68% norm), with viewers specifically calling out DBAs that allowed them to immediately tell who the ad was for, such as the placement of the Corona Extra bottle (39%), the beach (9%) and even the inclusion of a lime (9%)! All of which made it crystal clear to viewers who the ad was for.

The overall purchase uplift from the ad landed at 26% (compared to a norm of 19%) which is far above the norm, compared to a starting point of 21%. And the ad really enticed people to want to choose the brand. While Corona already had the highest consideration before seeing the ad at 21%, that didn't hold it back! After viewing the ad, 47% claimed to want to choose Corona over other brands. 

Sometimes it's harder for bigger brands to create such a shift in consideration versus small brands, but this ad does it beautifully through the combination of a great story, a hero role for the brand and the wonderful feeling it elicits in people about creating their own corner of paradise with Corona.

Viewers thought the ad was relevant (Relevance: 3.8 vs. 3.6 norm) and helped people see Corona Extra as delivering the main things they need in a beer (Brands Meets Needs: 4.2 vs. 4.0 norm). They also found the messaging throughout the ad to be clear and believable, stating things like “Corona Extra is a refreshing escape from every day life” and “Corona Extra is about enjoying simple, laid-back moments wherever you are” as well as 66% saying the ad makes the brand seem “refreshing” compared to 51% norm — really strengthening Corona's association with the key category entry point of refreshment coming into the summer season.

Overall, people really enjoyed this beachy, summertime spot from Corona, giving it an Overall Emotion score of 62 (compared to a norm of 56)! The ad scored high in Enjoyment (4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) and Emotional Intensity (19 vs. 16 norm) and left viewers with a lot of Like and Love reactions. 

The dominant emotion felt was Like, at 58% vs. the 48% norm, but it starts off with a mixture of both Love and Like. Laughter spikes when one of the men sprays water into the fan and concludes with Love outpacing Like when the Corona with lime transports the guys to the beach, leaving people on a high and with the brand as the hero.  

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad:

• "I like that it shows you can relax anywhere if you can imagine you are somewhere else. A good beer and a friend helps."

• "I liked the fact that it was realistic about paradise being different for everyone. It's not just the beach or tropical places. For some folks it is in their own neighborhood where they can relax."

• "I liked that the gentlemen found a way to have a small oasis in the big city. I enjoyed the fact they made their own spray to stay cool."

• "I liked the message that drinking Corona could make you as relaxed as being on a beach."

• "I liked the refreshing way the beer looked and the ad turning into the beach behind it."

• "The ad made me want to go to the beach to bathe in the sun while having a Corona. It made me feel very relaxed."

This was a great, short and sweet ad from Corona that got viewers in the summer spirit and reminded them that when you think of summer, you think of a cold Corona Extra! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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