Columbia Sportswear Makes Beer From Bear Crap

On the one day a year where much of the country is guaranteed to be indoors watching the Big Game, Columbia Sportswear, in collaboration with Breakside Brewery, is sharing a real taste of the outdoors to sports fans with “Nature Calls” – beer infused with real bear poop in the water used in the brewing process.

Mother Nature throws plenty at outdoor adventurers – from icy sleet to biting bugs – and Columbia doesn’t just embrace that; it engineers for it. Columbia doesn’t just embrace that, it actively engineers for it to make the worst parts of nature palatable and easier to enjoy. What better way to bring the “Engineered for Whatever” brand platform to life than “Nature Calls,” a tasty beer from Breakside Brewery.

For the first time in company history, Columbia will be taking part in the Big Game as “Nature Calls” will be available at Columbia’s booth during The Players Tailgate in Santa Clara, California on Sunday, February 8th. The beer, conceived by adam&eve\TBWA will also be available at Breakside Brewery’s locations.

Columbia has enlisted former NFL luminaries to endorse the bear poop beer and star in “The Big Game’s shittiest beer ad.” The ad, starring the likes of Lance Moore, Daunte Culpepper, John Kuhn and Mike Remmers launches on Jan 28th and shows the players explaining that “nobody knows the outdoors better than Columbia,” so it has decided to bring a taste of nature inside with “Nature Calls.”

Further activity will roll out across social, including teasers and creator-led taste tests, with influencers including Joe Santagato, The Basement Yard podcast co-host.

“When we say engineered for whatever, we mean whatever,” said Joe Boyle, Brand President at Columbia Sportswear. “If Mother Nature hurls bear poop at us, we’ll ferment it into a frosty pint. From the inside of a bear to your mouth – we’re making nature’s crap easier to swallow.”

Crafted by Portland-based Breakside Brewery, “Nature Calls” is a crisp lager born in Columbia’s hometown, made with water from the Bull Run River infused with a hint of bear poop collected trailside in Montana from the American black bear, malted grains grown in the Pacific Northwest, and a touch of honey and huckleberry.

“Bear sh*t beer coming from any brand might seem crazy – and it is. But we’re an outdoor brand that has a history of poking the bear, and this time it’s a black bear,” said Matt Sutton, SVP and Head of Marketing at Columbia. "Being slightly unhinged is the point. It’s how we break through at a moment when our competitive set is running wallpaper in $8M ad spots. We wanted to brew up a special stunt that speaks to our love of Portland and the outdoors, in a way you'll never forget.”

Ant Nelson, Chief Creative Officer at adam&eve\TBWA, said: “Since we’ve worked with Columbia, we’ve seen just how seriously they take their mission to make nature enjoyable. Battling storms or sub-zero temperatures is one thing. Bear crap is quite another. We weren’t sure even Columbia and Breakside could make that palatable – but somehow, they did.”