• Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, December 26, 2007 12:30 PM

Crown Imports, which owns U.S. rights to Modelo Especial, has big ad plans for the Mexican beer, ready to push it beyond the Hispanic market to a general audience. With ads in male-oriented magazines such as Esquire, Golf, Wired and Rolling Stone, Crown is trying to attract drinkers who sample many beers--and to also position Modelo as a high-class quaff. Executions feature drawings of Mayan foot soldiers hoisting it, with the tagline: "Let it be served."

But while Crown faces tough competition from "craft" and other brands old and new, executives are encouraged by recent sales growth that could be the result of Modelo's new packaging. "We consider this beer to be the industry's best-kept secret," says Bill Hackett, president of Chicago-based Crown, a unit of alcohol giant Constellation Brands. "We think it's appropriate that we really pull it out from under the radar."

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