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Bud Light fridges to unlock free beer if Cleveland Browns win

Wireless smart locks will release cold cans to victory-parched Browns fans.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
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But first the Browns have to win.

Anheuser-Busch

The Cleveland Browns don't want to be the lovable losers of the NFL. They just want to win a game. 

Fans now have an extra reason to root for a W: Bud Light will hand out free beers by way of smart fridges scattered around Cleveland. But only if the Browns can manage an elusive regular-season win.

If you don't follow the NFL, you might wonder why the Browns getting a win is such a big deal. Last season, the team went 0-16, setting the bar high for football futility. The season before that, the Browns only notched a single victory. 

The Cleveland Browns promoted the Bud Light marketing stunt in a tweet Tuesday, writing, "You've stood by us through it all. We love you for it, and so does @budlight. These special fridges will unlock celebratory beers when we get our first regular season "W". #VictoryFridge."

The full-sized, Bud Light-stocked fridge is done up in Cleveland colors and has the message "When the Browns win, Cleveland wins" emblazoned on the glass. 

The Twitter image shows a chain and lock around the door. An electromagnetic smart lock connected to Wi-Fi hides behind the back of the fridge. The lock will release and drop the chain when given a signal should the Browns win a game. 

The Bud Light Twitter account appears to be very optimistic about the team pulling out a victory, saying, "@Browns fans, these fridges will open this year. We know it. You know it. #LetsGoBrownies."

Bud Light won't reveal the exact victory fridge locations yet, but two will be placed inside the Browns' FirstEnergy Stadium and 10 others will pop up around the city in 21-and-over establishments. The bars hosting the fridges will decide how the free beer is distributed to patrons. The refrigerators will open whether the victory comes at home or on the road.

There may be some hope on the horizon. The Browns won their first preseason game against the New York Giants last week. Maybe they can turn that into some free-beer-generating momentum as they head into the regular season.

The Browns' opening game and the first chance for the refrigerators to unlock comes at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 9.

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