Modelo

Product brand

A Mexican beer brand best known internationally for Modelo Especial and a broad portfolio of Mexican-style lagers and flavored beer beverages.

Last updated October 14, 2026

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Overview

Modelo is a Mexican beer brand associated with Grupo Modelo, the brewing company established in Mexico City in 1925. The name is most strongly identified with Modelo Especial, a pale lager that has become one of the most prominent Mexican beer brands in the United States and other international markets. Modelo's broader brand family includes Negra Modelo, Modelo Chelada and other beer-based or beer-adjacent offerings, while Grupo Modelo's wider portfolio also includes Corona and Pacifico. Because the corporate and commercial arrangements differ by territory, Modelo's ownership can be confusing: Anheuser-Busch InBev owns Grupo Modelo globally, but Constellation Brands owns the perpetual U.S. rights to import, market and sell the Modelo and Corona brands after regulatory remedies connected with AB InBev's acquisition of Grupo Modelo. The U.S. business is therefore operated by Constellation rather than directly by AB InBev. The brand's identity is built around Mexican brewing heritage, premium visual cues, a distinctive gold-and-black package design, and storytelling about perseverance, community and earned reward. Modelo Especial has traditionally been presented as a pilsner-style lager with a crisp, moderately malty profile and a recognizable amber bottle or can package. Negra Modelo occupies a darker lager position, offering a fuller and more toasted flavor profile. In the U.S., the portfolio has expanded beyond standard beer through Cheladas, michelada-inspired products and newer flavored or spirit-adjacent formats such as Spiked Aguas Frescas, depending on market and period. Modelo's U.S. marketing developed from Spanish-language and Hispanic-market activity into large-scale bilingual and English-language national advertising. The brand's long-running Fighting Spirit platform and its later evolution, Mark of a Fighter, frame consumers as people who persist through difficulty and find meaning in work, family, friendship and community rather than status alone. Advertising has frequently used emotional film, sports media, soccer associations, out-of-home advertising and culturally specific storytelling. College basketball and college football have become particularly important media environments, with the brand using fan activations and broadcast integrations to reach both its established Hispanic audience and a broader U.S. beer-drinking public. Modelo's growth has also made it a central competitor in the U.S. premium beer segment. Modelo Especial became especially visible as U.S. consumers shifted toward imported Mexican beer and as the brand increased distribution, retail presence and advertising investment. Reports in 2023 stated that Modelo Especial surpassed Bud Light in U.S. dollar sales for a period, although such rankings depend on the measurement period and channel. The brand remains active, supported by Constellation Brands' U.S. beer organization and Grupo Modelo's international brewing network. Its present scope combines core lagers, dark lager, cheladas and newer flavored products, with positioning that links Mexican authenticity to contemporary sports, social and cultural occasions.

History

Grupo Modelo was founded in Mexico City in 1925, establishing the corporate foundation from which the Modelo beer family developed. The company built its identity around Mexican brewing and gradually created a portfolio extending beyond the flagship Modelo name. Modelo Especial became the best-known expression of that identity: a pale lager marketed for its clean taste, recognizable packaging and connection with Mexican heritage. Negra Modelo provided a darker, richer alternative within the same house. Grupo Modelo expanded substantially in Mexico and became an important exporter of Mexican beer. Corona, Modelo Especial and other labels gained international recognition as demand grew for imported Mexican lagers. In the United States, Modelo's development depended on both Hispanic-market communication and wider distribution. Early advertising emphasized cultural authenticity and Spanish-language reach, while later work broadened the brand's appeal through bilingual and English-language campaigns. A major corporate turning point came when Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired Grupo Modelo. Competition regulators required structural remedies in the United States, including the sale of Modelo's U.S. beer business and the transfer of perpetual U.S. rights for the Modelo and Corona brands to Constellation Brands. As a result, AB InBev retained global ownership of Grupo Modelo, but Constellation became the U.S. importer, marketer and seller of the brands covered by the arrangement. This split remains essential to understanding why Modelo is associated with both companies. During the 2010s and 2020s, Modelo Especial grew into a major U.S. premium and imported beer brand. Its marketing increasingly centered on the idea of a fighting spirit: consumers were portrayed as workers, family members, creators, fans and community participants who earn their moments of enjoyment through persistence. Campaigns such as Real World, Fighting Spirit Stories and Mark of a Fighter translated that positioning into Spanish-language, bilingual and English-language executions. The brand also used soccer, basketball and football to reach highly engaged audiences. The Mark of a Fighter platform, introduced in 2023, updated the earlier Fighting Spirit idea by focusing less on external status and more on meaningful goals, resilience and social bonds. The campaign continued to use emotionally direct storytelling and the musical identity associated with earlier work. In 2024 and 2025, Modelo increased its sports-marketing presence, including college basketball and college football initiatives, broadcast integrations and fan activations. Its portfolio also broadened through cheladas, flavored products, Spiked Aguas Frescas and smaller-format innovations such as Modelito, although availability varies by market. Today, Modelo operates as an internationally recognized Mexican beer brand within Grupo Modelo and Anheuser-Busch InBev's global structure, while the U.S. business is managed by Constellation Brands. The brand competes in mainstream-premium and imported beer through a combination of heritage, package recognition, product extensions, sports sponsorship and culturally grounded advertising. It remains active rather than being a separate publicly listed company, and its corporate control and commercial rights continue to be divided by geography.

2025
Sports marketing expands across basketball and football
[6]Modelo college football campaignmarketingdive.com
Modelo increases its college basketball presence and continues Full-Time Fans college-football activity with broadcast, retail and digital activations.
2023
Mark of a Fighter launches
[2]Modelo: Mark of a Fighteradsoftheworld.com
Modelo evolves its Fighting Spirit platform around resilience, meaningful pursuits and community.
2023
Modelo Especial leads U.S. beer dollar sales for a measurement period
[8]Modelo advertising history and campaignsdesignyourway.net
Trade reporting says Modelo Especial surpasses Bud Light in U.S. dollar sales in June, underscoring its growth in imported beer.
2022
Sacrifice campaign connects Modelo with soccer fandom
[3]Modelo: Sacrificeadsoftheworld.com
The brand uses humorous fan rituals and spilled-beer moments to extend its Fighting Spirit positioning into soccer culture.
2015
First national English-language U.S. campaign
[8]Modelo advertising history and campaignsdesignyourway.net
Modelo broadens its U.S. communication with the Brewed With a Fighting Spirit platform and national English-language television advertising.
2013
U.S. rights move to Constellation Brands
[10]Constellation Brands corporate informationconstellationbrands.com
Following AB InBev's acquisition of Grupo Modelo and U.S. regulatory remedies, Constellation Brands receives the perpetual U.S. rights to import, market and sell Modelo and Corona brands.
1925
Grupo Modelo is established
[1]Modelo Beer official websitemodelousa.com
Grupo Modelo begins operations in Mexico City and becomes the corporate home of the Modelo beer portfolio.

Products and positioning

Premium Mexican beer brand centered on authenticity, perseverance, community and sports culture.

Pale lager
Modelo Especial
Modelo Especial is the brand's best-known pale lager and its principal international growth engine. It is presented as a crisp, balanced Mexican-style beer with a moderate malt character and a clean finish. Gold, black and white packaging supports its premium positioning, while advertising connects the product with perseverance, celebration, food and sports occasions. In the United States it is sold in bottles, cans and draft formats, subject to market availability.
Dark lager
Negra Modelo
Negra Modelo is a darker lager positioned as a fuller and more malt-forward counterpart to Modelo Especial. Its darker color and toasted, caramel-like flavor cues distinguish it from the core pale lager range. The product extends Modelo's Mexican brewing credentials into a style that can appeal to drinkers seeking more body while retaining the drinkability associated with lager beer.
Chelada and flavored beer beverage
Modelo Chelada
Modelo Chelada products are beer-based beverages inspired by Mexican michelada and chelada traditions. Depending on the variant, they combine Modelo beer with tomato, citrus, chili, salt or other flavor elements. The line gives the brand a ready-to-drink option for consumers who want a seasoned, savory or fruit-forward format rather than a conventional lager.
Light lager · 2022
Modelo Oro
Modelo Oro is a light-lager extension designed to bring Modelo's visual identity and Mexican positioning into a lighter beer occasion. Its communication has used premium cues and the idea of a gold-standard light beer. Availability and product specifications vary by market, but the line broadens the portfolio beyond the core full-flavored lager.
Small-format beer
Modelito
Modelito is a smaller-format Modelo beer innovation associated with a campaign about appreciating small moments. Its launch communication deliberately used the product's small physical size as a creative device, including an out-of-home execution that required viewers to look closely. The product demonstrates Modelo's experimentation with format and occasion while retaining the parent brand's identity.
Flavored alcoholic beverage
Spiked Aguas Frescas
Spiked Aguas Frescas extends Modelo into flavored alcoholic refreshments inspired by aguas frescas. The range is intended for consumers seeking fruit-forward, sessionable alternatives to standard beer. It sits alongside cheladas and other innovations in the brand's broader effort to participate in more beverage occasions.

Marketing campaigns

2025Mark of a Fighter: College Basketball
United States
The 2025 campaign iteration combined three community-focused commercials with extensive college-basketball media, including television, streaming, audio, radio, social and out-of-home placements. Modelo also partnered with DraftKings on a fan challenge and promotional giveaway.
Outcome. The activation broadened Mark of a Fighter from conventional advertising into fan participation and a large tournament-season media program.
Source
2024Full-Time Fans
United States
Modelo used The Recruiter character to search for highly committed college-football fans, connecting the brand with fan identity through broadcast integrations, social content, retail programs and digital activity.
Outcome. The campaign established a recurring college-football property that was expanded the following season.
Source
2023Mark of a Fighter
United States
Mark of a Fighter evolved the Fighting Spirit idea by recognizing people who persist through adversity and pursue meaningful goals. The work used stories involving family, work, creativity and community, along with the recurring musical identity of Ennio Morricone's The Ecstasy of Gold.
Outcome. The platform became a central expression of Modelo's contemporary U.S. positioning and was extended through sports and digital media.
Source
2022Sacrifice
United States
Sacrifice celebrated soccer supporters who continue cheering despite the everyday collateral damage of fandom, including beers knocked over during moments of excitement or disappointment.
Outcome. The campaign reinforced Modelo's association with soccer and the Fighting Spirit platform through English- and Spanish-language spots.
Source
2018Real World
United States · Hispanic U.S. market
The Real World campaign presented hard work, friendship and everyday achievement as more meaningful than rewards that simply arrive without effort. Spanish-language television and bilingual digital executions targeted Hispanic American consumers.
Outcome. The campaign extended Modelo's culturally specific communication while maintaining its broader premium positioning.
Source
2015Brewed With a Fighting Spirit
United States
Modelo's first national English-language U.S. platform framed the beer as the product of Mexican heritage and determination, establishing the fighting-spirit idea that shaped later work.
Outcome. The platform became a long-running foundation for Modelo's U.S. brand identity.
Source
Modelito Makes It Special
Mexico
A launch platform for Modelito encouraged consumers to return their attention to the present and recognize the value of small everyday moments. A Mexico City billboard displayed the product at actual size, requiring passersby to use binoculars to see it.
Outcome. The activation introduced a continuing communication platform built around the idea that small details can make ordinary moments special.
Source

Brand decisions

2023
Modelo refreshes its Fighting Spirit positioningStrategy
Background
The brand sought to connect with consumers through internal purpose, community and meaningful effort rather than only external success or status.
Action taken
Modelo launched Mark of a Fighter, using personal stories, sports placements and a consistent musical identity to express the updated strategy.
Aftermath
The platform remained active in later basketball and football campaigns and became a major part of the brand's U.S. communications.
Source
2013
U.S. commercial rights are separated from global Grupo Modelo ownershipM&A
Background
Anheuser-Busch InBev's acquisition of Grupo Modelo required remedies to address competition concerns in the United States.
Action taken
Constellation Brands obtained the U.S. brewery assets and perpetual rights to import, market and sell the Modelo and Corona brand families in the United States, while AB InBev retained Grupo Modelo's global ownership.
Aftermath
Modelo is commercially operated by Constellation in the United States but remains part of AB InBev's global Grupo Modelo structure elsewhere.
Source

Recent events

2025
Modelo expands its college football fan strategy[6]Modelo college football campaignmarketingdive.com
Campaign
Modelo continued its Full-Time Fans platform with the return of The Recruiter character and a larger college-football activation plan, supported by broadcast, digital, retail and social activity.
2025
Modelo brings Mark of a Fighter to college basketball[5]Modelo college basketball campaignmarketingdive.com
Campaign
The 2025 iteration of Mark of a Fighter added community-centered creative, broad sports-media placement and a DraftKings fan challenge. The campaign was scheduled across television, connected TV, social, digital, audio, radio and out-of-home channels.
2024
Modelo increases U.S. television advertising investment[7]Constellation Brands spends on Modelo advertisingthedrinksbusiness.com
Pricing · Campaign
Industry reporting based on iSpot measurement data described Modelo Especial as the most-advertised beer brand on U.S. television during the first part of 2024 and reported substantial advertising expenditure in 2023 and 2024.
2023
Modelo launches the Mark of a Fighter campaign[2]Modelo: Mark of a Fighteradsoftheworld.com
Campaign
Modelo introduced a new stage of its Fighting Spirit brand platform. The advertising emphasized personal struggle, meaningful pursuits and connections with family, friends and community, and used placements around major sports programming.
2023
Modelo Especial becomes a leading U.S. beer by dollar sales[8]Modelo advertising history and campaignsdesignyourway.net
Other
Industry coverage reported that Modelo Especial exceeded Bud Light in U.S. dollar sales in June 2023, reflecting the brand's rapid growth in the imported beer segment. The result is measurement-period specific rather than a permanent universal ranking.
2022
Modelo expands soccer-focused Sacrifice advertising[3]Modelo: Sacrificeadsoftheworld.com
Campaign
The Sacrifice campaign used humorous depictions of fans losing or spilling their beers during intense soccer moments, presenting continued fandom as an expression of Modelo's Fighting Spirit.

Sources13 sources

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