Dos Equis is giving away up to 1 million free beers

By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer
Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

    Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

    Dos Equis is giving away as many as 1 million free beers this college football season.
    Dos Equis is giving away as many as 1 million free beers this college football season.
    Bryan Steffy—Getty Images

    As the 2024 college football season kicks off this weekend, Dos Equis is preparing to hand out free beers—a whole lot of them.

    The brewer has announced plans to give away as many as 1 million beers to fans around the country. The exact number, though, will be up to the teams.

    The “Go for Dos” campaign will see Dos Equis handing out beers gratis when a sufficient number of Division 1 College Football teams go for a two-point conversion after a touchdown.

    Last year, in the regular season, teams in Division 1 went for a two-point conversion 392 times. Dos Equis is hoping to see that topped this year. So every week, the brewer says, it will unlock 50,000 free beers when, collectively, Division 1 teams attempt a two-point conversion more than 28 times. Should the league top the 392 number from last season, Dos Equis will release another 500,000 free beers, it says.

    Thirsty followers can check the Dos Equis Instagram or Faceook page every Monday to see if enough two-point conversions were attempted—as well as instructions on how to claim their free beer.

    “Dos Equis is celebrating the relatively rare—but always exhilarating—two-point conversion, and the daring risk taking it represents. We want to inspire fans to celebrate and embrace moments of boldness,” said Jonnie Cahill, chief marketing officer for Heineken USA, which imports Dos Equis.

    It’s the sort of promotion you might expect during college football season, but for Dos Equis, the timing couldn’t be more critical. Earlier this year, sales of import beer topped domestic premium beer for the first time ever. Budweiser is still struggling after the boycott that followed its association with a transgender influencer.

    Bud Light, which used to top the sales charts, has slipped to the third-best-selling beer, as Michelob Ultra has surpassed it to claim the number two spot. Modelo Especial, which overtook Bud Light when the boycotts began, remains the best-selling beer in the U.S.

    That all represents an opportunity for Dos Equis to raise its market share with an audience that has long shown its love of hops and grains.

    Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.