This International Beer Day (2nd August), Heineken® has created a campaign with an unexpected message: that you don’t need to focus on the beer. Instead, the brewer wants you to focus on having a good time together because there’s more to going for a beer, than the beer.
With factors like digital overload and longer working hours increasingly affecting our social lives, making sure we come together for good times is now more important than ever. A recent study* found nearly a quarter (24%) of the global population feels “very” or “fairly” lonely, while 6% do not feel connected “at all” to others, equating to about one in every 20 people worldwide.
To bring this brand purpose to life, the iconic brewer has created an advert, going live today on International Beer Day; that showcases how ‘forgotten beers’ on the periphery of parties, football matches celebrations or get togethers in bars, demonstrate that good times are being had. Soundtracked to Debussy’s Claire de Lune, the powerful ad shows that the best part of having a beer isn’t actually the beer itself. The ad will be seen across Heineken Meta channels and Youtube.
With sociability at Heineken®’s core, celebrating these moments is more important to the brand than the beer itself; after all, Freddy Heineken himself said: “I don’t sell beer, I sell gezelligheid” (a famous Dutch phrase meaning ‘the feeling of good times’).
To coincide with the ad, Heineken® Ireland has worked with Dublin-based Poet Adam Mohamed. The brief to Adam? Create a poem for Heineken® Ireland for International Beer Day, that doesn’t focus on the beer itself. Adam created a beautiful piece of spoken word that celebrates the moments in Irish pubs and social settings.
Mark Noble, Marketing Manager, Heineken® Ireland says: “On International Beer Day, this year isn’t about the beer in hand. It’s truly a moment we get to show what the Heineken® brand stands for - good times together. Our beer is great, but what is it without Irish pubs, social occasions and craic? It’s those moments we want to celebrate. We are delighted to launch the campaign in Ireland and it was a pleasure to work with poet Adam Mohamed to bring the essence of the campaign to life here.”
Bruno Bertelli, Global CEO LePub, CCO Publicis Worldwide commented “International Beer Day was the perfect occasion for Heineken to show once again the brands’ always-unique point of view. In fact, the campaign is an ode to good times and happiness all portrayed through the lenses of those beers that are left behind to give space to the deliciousness of togetherness, quality socialising and friendly moments.”
