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.