June 18, 2024 – For nearly 50 years, the World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest and its quirky, canine contestants have stolen hearts at the Sonoma-Marin Fair and beyond. This year, MUG® Root Beer and its mascot Dog are showing that every dog does, in fact, have its day, awarding the contest’s winner the chance to be the face of MUG Root Beer.
The annual World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest celebrates one-of-a-kind pups, many who have been rescued from shelters and puppy mills, all to highlight the importance of adoption. As a Dog-backed brand, MUG is jumping at the chance to support its canines in need. Along with upping the total prizing to $10,000 split across the top three dogs’ owners, MUG will also release a limited edition can for fans to win online, featuring the World’s Ugliest Dog® winner in lieu of its usual mascot Dog.
“MUG will always root for the dogs. In fact, we love ours so much, we put him on every package. That’s why we want to give the World’s Ugliest Dog their own chance to be commemorated as top dog,” said Patrick Gamble, Sr. Brand Marketing Manager, MUG Root Beer. “By puYng the winning dog on our cans of MUG, we’re celebrating these great pups in hopes of encouraging others to adopt their own canine best friend.”
The winning dog will also get the chance to be featured on MUG social channels, with free MUG for a year for its owner. Prizing will be distributed across the owners of the top three contestants, with $5,000 to first place, $3,000 to second place, and $2,000 to third place.
“I root for all my dogz becuz all dogz r winnerz. MUG needz mor dogz!” said MUG Root Beer mascot Dog.
The 2024 contestants will walk the MUG red carpet to be crowned on Friday, June 21st at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California. The contest’s winner will be publicly announced on Monday, June 24th, along with more details on the limited edition can of MUG. Dog and root beer lovers can follow @MugRootBeer on TikTok and Instagram for updates. MUG and the Mug Dog Character Design are registered trademarks of New Century Beverage Company, LLC.