When Corona launched its refreshed brand platform La Playa Awaits in March 2025, the message was unmistakable: the beach is no longer just a destination—it’s a mindset. Created with agency GSD&M and released alongside Major League Baseball’s opening day, the campaign leaned heavily into Corona’s legacy as a symbol of warmth, tranquility, and Mexican beach culture. However, the unexpected crossover with HBO’s The Last of Us expanded the platform’s creative and cultural dimensions.

The campaign dropped across Max’s ad-supported streaming tier and social platforms in early April, inserting itself into a narrative world defined by collapse and scarcity. Featuring Gabriel Luna (Tommy in The Last of Us), the ads created small, evocative moments in which drinking a Corona becomes something more—a rare pause from chaos, a reclaiming of humanity, a fleeting escape.

Storytelling That Breathes

Rather than sell beer through repetition or humor, the campaign leaned into emotional storytelling. These weren’t typical 30-second spots. They were fragments of a story, crafted with cinematic pacing and visual language that mirrored the tone of The Last of Us. Using Gabriel Luna rather than a nameless actor brought authenticity and resonance, especially for fans emotionally invested in the characters.

Corona adapted to its logic, and the soundscapes gradually morph from tension-building drones to the soft hush of ocean waves. The camera lingers not on the bottle but on the stillness it represents.

Marketing for Mental Refuge

This campaign lands when escapism in marketing is being fundamentally redefined. Once synonymous with fantasy and luxury, escapism today has taken on a more urgent, emotional role. In an age of burnout, climate dread, screen fatigue, and social volatility, consumers seek more than aspirational imagery—they want psychological relief.

Corona taps directly into this need. By introducing a serene moment into a high-stress narrative world, the campaign transforms escapism from a vacation fantasy into a metaphor for self-preservation. The beach isn’t sold as a getaway location but as a mental space, a permission slip to pause.

Contrast becomes the emotional hook. The apocalyptic backdrop heightens the value of peace. The tagline La Playa Awaits now carries a dual meaning: the literal beach, and the inner calm we all crave amid societal noise. By embedding these truths into a fictional context, the campaign achieves something rare: escapism that feels both earned and relevant.

Multi-Layered Activation

Corona activated across multiple touchpoints to bring the story to life beyond screens. On April 27, 2025, a full-day takeover of Max elevated the campaign’s visibility. An exclusive Los Angeles premiere sponsorship, plus a New York influencer screening, anchored the collaboration in real-world fan culture. Retail activations sweetened the deal, offering replicas of the Taylor 314c guitar from the show and other exclusive merchandise, allowing fans to carry a piece of that emotional escape physically.

These activations created buzz and expanded the campaign’s emotional reach. The experience became layered, moving from viewing to participating. Corona didn’t just interrupt an audience; it built a space for them.

A New Kind of Bravery in Branding

What makes this campaign remarkable is its creative bravery. It marries two seemingly incompatible worlds: the sunlit calm of Corona and the grim, fungal decay of The Last of Us, and turns their tension into something poetic. That clash isn’t diluted; it’s leveraged. The beer becomes a moment of unexpected grace, made more powerful by the brutality around it.

And audiences responded. According to Adweek, the campaign saw a measurable uptick in social engagement and brand favorability among viewers aged 25–44, Corona’s key demographic. But beyond metrics, the brand earned something harder to quantify: cultural relevance in a moment when people are desperate for an emotional exhale.