Jason Kelce has officially joined the ranks of retired athletes who’ve discovered that acting in their own commercials beats sitting on the couch. The former Philadelphia Eagles center stars in “The Last True Cold One,” a Western-themed short film for Garage Beer, the light beer brand he co-owns with his brother Travis. And unlike most celebrity product spots that feel like obligations, this one actually commits to the bit.
The film, shot at the legendary Mescal Movie Set in Arizona (the same location used for Tombstone and The Outlaw Josey Wales), casts Kelce as a gunslinger searching for an ice-cold Garage Beer bottle in a scorching desert town. The problem? The local villain, played by his former Eagles teammate Beau Allen, doesn’t believe in cold beer. Kylie Kelce, Jason’s real-life wife, rounds out the cast as a sultry town sheriff. It’s ridiculous. It’s also self-aware enough to work.
When Athletes Actually Try
Here’s the thing about celebrity marketing: most of it feels hollow because the celebrity clearly didn’t care. They read the lines, collected a check, and moved on. Kelce’s approach is different. According to Rolling Stone, he describes himself as Garage Beer’s “creative madman” and says he deliberately tapped into his playful side for the project.
“Beer is a product that is centered around having fun,” Kelce told Rolling Stone. “From the beginning, as a team, we have really focused on how we can have fun in everything we do and in the content we produce.”
It’s corporate-speak, sure, but the thing is, he actually seems to believe it. More importantly, he’s not trying to convince anyone that beer is a lifestyle or that drinking it will transform their life. He’s just having fun with the premise, and that restraint makes it work.
The Business Play
This is also smart business. Garage Beer introduced bottles this spring, a significant expansion from their grab-and-go cans that initially made them viral. Rather than boring everyone with a standard product announcement, the brand tied the launch to an actual film. Chief Creative Officer Corey Smale explained the thinking: “With Kelce, we’ve always used these films as a way to do something bigger than a traditional ad, but this is the first time we’re tying one directly to a new product. So we treated it like a real moment.”
The bottles come in two varieties, classic lager and lime-flavored, at 4% ABV and 95 calories each. They’re already in stores. Whether the Western gimmick actually drives sales or just generates entertainment value is another question entirely, but the brand clearly understands that attention itself has become the product.
The Supporting Cast Factor
Allen, a former nose tackle, gets what might be his biggest role yet in the commercial. Kelce praised his work, noting that Allen has improved with each Garage Beer project (this is their third feature film together). The former teammates clearly enjoy working together, which comes through on screen. It’s not groundbreaking acting, but it doesn’t need to be.
What matters is that everyone involved seems to be having an actual good time, rather than pretending. In an era where celebrity endorsements have become so divorced from authenticity that we barely register them anymore, Kelce’s willingness to lean into something deliberately campy feels almost refreshing.
The Hustle Never Stops
Since retiring from the NFL in 2024, Kelce has kept himself impressively busy. The New Heights podcast (co-hosted with Travis), his beer investment, partnerships with Marriott Bonvoy and Amazon, plus various other ventures have filled his days. He’s not exactly struggling for things to do.
When asked whether he prefers beer in a can or bottle, Kelce gave a refreshingly honest answer: grab whichever is closest. But he also acknowledged the different contexts. Tailgating or being out and about? Cans all the way. Sitting at a bar or watching a game on the couch? Bottles feel right in your hand when talking to a stranger on a barstool.
It’s a small thing, but it’s the kind of specificity that suggests he’s actually thought about this brand beyond the paycheck. Whether that translates to actual loyalty among beer drinkers or just generates some entertaining content remains to be seen.
The real question isn’t whether this commercial will make Garage Beer a household name, but whether Kelce’s approach here proves that celebrities can make marketing content that’s genuinely fun to watch without sacrificing their credibility. In a landscape cluttered with soulless endorsements, maybe that’s enough.
