Contract for Change

FCB Chicago

Brand: Michelob ULTRA

Year: 2022

Even though 90% of Americans want to buy organic food and drinks, less than 1% of America’s farmland is organic, a shocking reality that’s jeopardizing our health and environment. The reason? Going organic takes three extremely difficult years, an impossible challenge for struggling family farms.

With insufficient government support for transitioning farmers, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, America’s leading organic beer, has taken on the mission to transform America’s agriculture with “Contract for Change,” an agreement that farmers sign today that guarantees them a buyer in three years, when their organic transition is complete. The certainty of having a large buyer like Michelob ULTRA removes the main barrier to going organic.

Another barrier is the income farmers lose during the transition. The contract includes a commitment from Anheuser-Busch to buy crops during that transition for its yearly production of non-organic beers at a 25% higher price, so farmers don’t lose money. Finally, the contract provides organic training, through the biggest agricultural organizations like the Organic Trade Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In a hyper-targeted cross-channel campaign, 175 farmers across the nation have already signed up for “Contract for Change” and 104,000 acres are currently in transition.