Wild Thang, the winner of the 2024 World’s Ugliest Dog competition, will now be the face of Mug Root Beer, at least for a limited time.
The 8-year-old Pekingese, who secured the coveted title on June 21 at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, after four previous attempts, will grace 1,000 limited edition cans of Mug Root Beer, according to USA Today.
Wild Thang triumphed over the second-place and People’s Choice winner, Rome, a 14-year-old, one-eyed pug.
In addition to the winner becoming the face of Mug, the competition awarded $5,000 to the first-place winner, $3,000 to second-place, and $2,000 to third.
Why is Wild Thang the new face of Mug Root Beer?
Mug Root Beer sponsored the World’s Ugliest Dog contest for the first time in 2024.
As previously reported by the Deseret News, the contest celebrates the uniqueness of each dog and promotes the adoption of pets who have faced hardships, a background shared by many contestants, including Wild Thang.
Mug Root Beer, known for its dog mascot, Dog, aimed to show support for the event and raise awareness.
“Mug will always root for the dogs,” Patrick Gamble, senior brand marketing manager for Mug said in a press release. “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.”
“By putting 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,” Gamble added.
Wild Thang never gives up
Wild Thang’s victory came after several failed attempts.
“He got second three years in a row, first year nothing,” Ann Lewis, his owner, told Today. “So then three years in a row, he got second and we were like, ‘Let’s just go again because it’s so much fun. And if not, we’ll go back the next year.’”
Wild Thang is enjoying his newfound fame, attracting attention during his travels for interviews.
“We got bombarded. He was just loving it,” Lewis said. “He was wagging his tail. He was happy. He was getting head shots with people.”
“Even ugly is beautiful,” she added.
How to get the limited edition Wild Thang root beer
Mug Root Beer’s mascot Dog announced the limited edition cans on Instagram and TikTok, promising they will still taste like root beer.
The cans are expected to be released in mid-July. The company plans to provide updates on how fans can purchase the cans through their social media accounts.