Diageo AdWatch
A collection of breaking campaigns and innovative marketing examples from the drinks sector
Diageo
Guinness sets zero emissions target for 2030, with the intention of cutting its vehicle pollution by 100%.
Campaign Overview
Guinness has announced plans to introduce the first zero emissions vehicles into its fleet from this summer. The company is hoping for 70% of its fleet to be non-polluting by the end of 2025, and 100% emissions-free by the end of the decade. The brand already has one zero emission vehicle, which is currently used exclusively at its brewery, with Guinness hoping to add four zero emission trucks to its fleet later this year.
Barry O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland said: “We are committed to reducing our indirect emissions through this initiative and want to play a key role for sustainable transport in the commercial sector in Ireland. We are only 263 years into our 9,000-year lease on the St. James’s Gate Brewery, and we are in it for the long haul – for our people, our products and our planet, and we will never settle in pursuit of a better, more sustainable future for everyone.”
"It offers consumers tangible evidence of Guinness’ commitment to the cause, with short-term goals bringing about immediate sustainable change".
Key Learnings
This environmentally-conscious initiative plays a part in Diageo’s wider 10-year sustainability action plan - Society 2030: Spirit of Progress - with the business hoping to deliver net zero carbon emissions across its direct operations, as well as a 50% reduction in indirect emissions. It offers consumers tangible evidence of Guinness’ commitment to the cause, with short-term goals bringing about immediate sustainable change, whilst also proving a template for other Diageo brands that want to become more environmentally-friendly.
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Beer
Tiger Beer celebrates Chinese New Year with ambition-driven digital video.
Campaign Overview
This celebratory creative sees Tiger Beer team up with world-renowned footballing star Son Heung-Min to welcome in the new Chinese New Year. Heung-Min stars alongside various members of the public, each hoping to ‘break barriers, dream bold and go for the impossible’. The company asks its customers to ‘Make It Your Year’, with its brand name tying itself to the New Year celebrations: ‘The Year of the Tiger’.
Sean O’Donnell, global brand director for Tiger Beer, highlights how the campaign embodies the spirit of the brand: it “was born from defying the odds with a bold and courageous spirit (…) Brewing beer in the tropics was thought to be impossible until we did it.”
"The footballer is the perfect symbol for the dare-doing spirit the company wants to portray"
Key Learnings
This latest effort from Tiger Beer fully utilises the talents and appeal of its newest brand ambassador, with Son Heung-Min helping to grow the campaign online through his own social media content. The footballer is the perfect symbol for the dare-doing spirit the company wants to portray, with the athlete sharing his hope to achieve his boldest ambition: winning a national trophy with his home nation of South Korea. Tiger Beer will also be inviting a cast of influential voices across the Asia Pacific to share their personal stories over the New Year, about how they’re dreaming big and intend to make the Year of the Tiger their own.
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Spirits
Bacardi launches Palette, its first non-alcoholic spirit brand.
Campaign Overview
Bacardi has partnered with bartenders in Amsterdam to create this new alcohol-free product, one which will ‘inspire creativity among bartenders’. The collaboration has spawned two 500ml variants: Palette Roots and Palette Bold. Palette Roots is said to offer a ‘deep, complex and fragrant flavour’, and is made using juniper berries, ginger and the oils of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Palette Bold, on the other hand, tastes like an aged spirit, with an ‘upfront and punchy experience’, followed by ‘woody, oak and smoky’ notes.
Marine Rozenfeld, innovation development lead for Bacardi Europe, Australia and New Zealand explains: “We’re calling time on sweet, tasteless ‘mocktails’ (…) Palette is the perfect choice for creative bartenders looking to mix things up behind the bar. I can’t wait to see how they use Palette to flex their creative muscles with non-alcoholic cocktails in a way that’s never been possible before.”
"Global consumption of the no-and-low spirits category will grow by 31% by 2024".
Key Learnings
Palette is the latest addition to Bacardi’s low- and no-alcohol offerings, which already includes Martini Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo Vibrante and Floreale, Martini Fiero vermouth and St-Germain elderflower liqueur. The timing of this product launch is particularly savvy, given many consumers will be participating in Dry January. Indeed, Palette is the result of Bacardi’s own research, with the brand referencing IWSR data in its expectation that global consumption of the no-and-low spirits category will grow by 31% by 2024.
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Digital
Rio Carioca Beer subverts expectations with light-hearted digital creative.
Campaign Overview
The Brazilian beer brand playfully documents how it had invited some of the country’s biggest celebrities to feature in its most comprehensive campaign yet. These household names included pop singers, footballers, reality stars and influencers, with the company paying the participants millions.
Once the ads were filmed, however, Rio Carioca realised that its ‘beer looked way better by itself’, prompting the brand to ditch the celebrity endorsements in favour of a digital creative that prioritises only the drink itself.
"This campaign highlights to consumers what is most crucial: the product".
Key Learnings
This campaign highlights to consumers what is most crucial: the product. Whilst Rio Carioca’s tale of doing away with celebrities, despite having already paid them their fee, does seem rather far-fetched, the message behind the creative holds firm. Rather than distracting potential customers from what is important, the company chooses instead to fill its ad with inviting close-ups of it beer, as it fizzes and froths when poured into a glass. It portrays the quality and craft associated with the product, inviting more potential customers to invest in the beer.
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Non-Alcohol
Sprite offers customers a ‘moment of relaxation’ in new digital video.
Campaign Overview
This creative from Sprite provides consumers with a much needed break from the world. The brand draws comparisons between its soft drink and a yoga class, with each offering peace and serenity to those who engage with them.
Participants move their bodies in rhythm to the sounds of Sprite being opened, poured and consumed, letting themselves ‘be carried away’ in the process. Once they have reached their ‘moment of relaxation’, the participants are able to continue with their day, knowing they’re in a clearer headspace.
"It visualises the relaxing, hydrating and calming benefits to consuming Sprite".
Key Learnings
This creative is the full-length version of a campaign that has been appearing from Sprite from as early as October 2021, with a digital video released in November 2021 attracting more than 86 million views on YouTube. What this new 45-second version does effectively is to visualise the relaxing, hydrating and calming benefits to consuming Sprite. The clear-headedness that customers get from drinking Sprite are also highlighted by the company’s ‘Let’s Be Clear’ tagline, which has been used globally since July 2021.
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Packaging
Budweiser offers customers the chance to become a millionaire with golden can sweepstake.
Campaign Overview
The beer brand has paid homage to the golden tickets found in Roald Dahl’s famous children’s novel ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, by placing several golden cans in specially-marked packs of beer across the USA. The ‘Like a King’ sweepstake will see lucky winners eligible to receive $1 million.
The company have also highlighted how there is another way to win the cash prize: customers can navigate to a microsite, where they can print their very own golden can wrap. Customers must then snap a pic with the golden can image wrapped around a bottle or can and share it on social, tagging @budweiserusa with the hashtags #LiveLikeAKing & #Sweepstakes. The contest started on 10th January, and will run until 20th February.
"This campaign capitalises on the renowned pop-culture element of Dahl’s book to drive engagement and sales".
Key Learnings
This campaign capitalises on the renowned pop-culture element of Dahl’s book to drive engagement and sales during the early months of the year. The sweepstake will see greater investment in Budweiser packs, as customers seek to find the elusive golden can, whilst consumer social media content that references the campaign will help to boost Budweiser’s presence online. This isn’t the first time the brand has run the golden can initiative: 2016 saw the company give customers the chance to win Super Bowl tickets for life.
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Wine
Château Cantenac Brown to sell ‘earth art’ made from its estate as NFT.
Campaign Overview
Château Cantenac Brown has commissioned artist David Popa to create a piece of art using the soil from its winery and plans to sell it as an NFT. The temporary artwork, “The Power of the Earth”, will be preserved as a video, with all proceeds coming from the cryptocurrency sale being donated to the Conservatoire du Littoral, a French natural conservation organisation.
Tristan Le Lous, Château Cantenac Brown owner said: “There are many unique aspects of this project that lend itself to a wide range of potential consumers. Popa’s ephemeral artwork and the way in which we have chosen to preserve it, using drone video footage sold as an NFT is the first of its kind – this approach targets collectors of digital assets. The artwork will also be Popa’s first among vines, so this will surely be interesting to the art and wine collecting community.”
"This initiative effectively mixes the rich history and heritage of the Château Cantenac Brown estate with modern, digital business techniques".
Key Learnings
This initiative effectively mixes the rich history and heritage of the Château Cantenac Brown estate with modern, digital business techniques. Many companies within the alcohol sector have recently been experimenting with cryptocurrency: the start of this year saw Hennessy release its very first NFT, available on the BlockBar.com marketplace. The NFT also helps to preserve an artwork that would otherwise be lost, as Popa’s fresco, which will be built on the Cantenac plateau in front of the estate, will not last beyond the first signs of rainfall.
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