Diageo AdWatch

Campaign Overview

The brand has partnered with the Busan International Film Festival and Marie Claire Korea for this latest campaign, which sees the brand advertise its Johnnie Walker Blue variant. The company interviewed 12 prominent Korean directors, asking them what cinema means to them and what their predictions were for the future of the genre. The filmmakers eloquently expressed how they are ‘naturally drawn’ to the movies, as they feel they are able to ‘express’ themselves and ‘recreate memories’ through the power of cinema. The directors were keen to emphasise how Korean film is growing, with more and more talented artists flocking to the medium to produce their own movies.

Key Learnings

This creative concludes with an endline highlighting ‘depth of narrative, depth of character, depth of blue’. This statement underlines the parallels the company wants to draw between the imagination and emotion of Korean cinema and the striking and memorable flavour of its Blue variant, with both possessing unique depth and artistry. It highlights the passion Johnnie Walker puts into manufacturing its products, while also imbuing its whisky with a degree of excellence, that same high standard set by some of the Korea’s most trailblazing filmmakers.

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Campaign Overview

This playful digital video shows Watts, who has been a constant presence on South African television for 38 years, going about his day. However, as he walks the streets, he finds that people treat him as a ‘really serious guy’, with onlookers avoiding eye contact and acting nervous in his presence. Dejected that the public’s opinion on him might be correct, that he is as serious as he is perceived, he enters a bar and orders a Castle Lite. Spurred on by the lightness of the beer, Watts takes to the dancefloor to demonstrate the laid-back and jovial side of his personality, as he dances joyfully with the other customers, even taking off his jacket and swinging it above his head.

Key Learnings

Castle Lite’s campaign capitalises on the star persona of its brand ambassador, with Derek Watts forging a name for himself on the investigative journalism show ‘Carte Blanche’, which has run on television since 1988. With Watts often tackling weighty subject matter, South African audiences have associated him with the sombre and serious, making him the perfect candidate for this creative, which asks customers to ‘Lite’n up’. The campaign demonstrates how its beer can have a profound emotional impact on its customers, leading to a more light-hearted, stress-free life.

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Campaign Overview

World Beard Day is an annual global event held on the first Saturday of September, with beard owners and beard lovers coming together to celebrate the facial hair style. Since 2017, Jameson has been bringing beard brothers, brands and admirers together to mark the occasion, with this year proving no different. The company organised a special event in Lagos, Nigeria, where hundreds of bearded guests came together to play games, indulge in great-tasting food, dance to music and drink Jameson’s enticing cocktails. Jameson released a one-minute digital video that recapped the day’s festivities and encouraged customers to join in on the conversation on social media using the hashtag #JamesonBeardDay.

Key Learnings

Although World Beard Day is predominantly a bit of light-hearted fun, Jameson uses the event as a way to champion individual expression: just as men take pride in crafting the perfect beard, utilising different styles and shapes, so too do Jameson’s customers, as they use the brand’s whisky to create vibrant and flavoursome cocktails. It effectively emphasises how Jameson acts as the ideal basis for a great-tasting drink, with consumers able to tailor their cocktails to their preferences, but with Jameson’s whisky always at the heart.

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Campaign Overview

The company has collaborated with Mexican American conductor and San Francisco Philharmonic founder and musical director Jessica Bejarano for this campaign, which brings together a variety of musical styles and genres, such as hip-hop and dancehall, while also celebrating Latin soundscapes from emerging and established artists. The Alta Sinfónica musical expression will debut on 1st October in San Francisco at the Herbst Theatre, with all proceeds being donated to the San Francisco Philharmonic, a non-profit organisation. To help publicise this forthcoming performance, Tecate has released a 3-minute creative called ‘Meet The Conductor’, which takes a close look at Bejarano’s life and her motivation to improve gender representation in the industry. Two further documentary films will also be released, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with those involved.

Key Learnings

This campaign serves as an effective marketing tool for Tecate’s Alta variant, a product that was ‘born without borders’ and enjoys ‘the best of both worlds’. With the Alta variant making its name as an American product with strong Mexican influence, the Alta Sinfónica initiative helps to reinforce the notion that beauty and excellence is achieved through the cross-cultural blurring of lines, that welcoming new expressions and perspectives achieves a stronger product or performance. The campaign is a particularly timely one, given its release during National Hispanic Heritage Month, emphasising the brand’s commitment to celebrating diversity and inclusion.

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Campaign Overview

Manzana Postobón is using its iconic pink soda, which is recognised by more than 50 million Colombian consumers, as the basis for a campaign that challenges the stereotypes and associations people have regarding the colour. In a vibrant and expressive minute-long digital video, the company emphasises how: “pink is more than a colour. It’s attitude, swag, strength, boldness”. This statement is reinforced by images of Columbians who demonstrate how ‘pink is something else’, using the colour as an emblem for their courage and style. This ranges from those exploring new forms of expression, to couples getting into new relationships, to one man documenting his fight with cancer.

Daniel Álvarez, Executive Creative Director of Sancho BBDO, (the agency behind the campaign) said: “We are very happy to have this campaign on the air, to reinvent the communication of a brand as traditional as Manzana Postobón, to generate a unique tone, a different point of view […] and an understanding that local brands also have the power and responsibility to give culturally relevant statements like this one.”

Key Learnings

This campaign responds to research which found that pink is still considered one of the most sexualised colours and one that reinforces the most gender stereotypes. Instead of breaking down this stigmatization, advertising and marketing is being seen to reinforce these associations, with 38% of Colombian ads still supporting these outdated colour codes. Manzana Postobón’s campaign is therefore a strong CSR initiative, as it aims to influence public consciousness and contribute towards a fairer and more equal society.

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Campaign Overview

The company has made a symbolic gesture ahead of the ‘Rock In Rio’ music festival, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Heineken has attached solar panels to a billboard connected to the city’s famous Brewteco bar, located in the Gávea district. The billboard will then draw energy from the sun to cool the beers housed in the establishment, offering customers an eco-friendly way of drinking a chilled beverage. The brand has outlined the environmentally-aware nature of the billboard, with its text reading: “This billboard is cooling your Heineken. Cheers.”

Eduardo Picarelli, director of the Business Unit of the Heineken brand in Brazil commented: “We want to take advantage of all the activity going on in Rio de Janeiro during the days of the festival to draw attention to our Heineken Green Energy program. The solar panels that cool the beer create a connection with the audience in an innovative way, inviting people to start an important dialogue in a totally different way.”

Key Learnings

This initiative is emblematic of Heineken’s wider efforts to become more sustainable, with the brand already using 100% renewable energy across its production processes, as well as pledging to bring renewable energy to 50% of partner bars and restaurants in 19 world capitals by 2030. This innovative billboard campaign not only demonstrates Heineken’s commitment to preserving the environment, but it also challenges customers to rethink the ways they consume energy, both in public and in their homes. This means Heineken will be able to promote change both in terms of business practices and consumer habits, resulting in comprehensive environmental change.

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Campaign Overview

This minute-long creative, which also appeared online in a 30-second re-edited form, sees Devil’s Corner ask its customers where their adventure will take them next. The digital video introduces a group of explorers meeting in a ‘place unlike any other. A place that’s wild, and wildly rewarding’. Cinematic footage shows the group traversing the Tasmanian landscape, setting sail on a crystal-blue lake, or navigating a picturesque cave. The brand highlights how ‘epic adventure gives way to darker delights’, as the globetrotters settle in to enjoy one another’s company over a glass of Devil’s Corner’s red wine. The creative concludes with an inspirational message: ‘all roads lead to discovery. Meet you at Devil’s Corner’.

Key Learnings

This campaign sees Devil’s Corner pay tribute to its Tasmanian home, as the company forges a strong relationship with the Australian state and its iconic destinations. Just as explorers can enjoy a uniquely Tasmanian experience if they visit the island state, so too can customers when they purchase Devil’s Corner, with consumers tasting a distinctive and flavoursome wine that is evocative of the brand’s homeland. With its emphasis on adventure and exploration, the company is arguably targeting millennial consumers, portraying its brand identity as fresh and dynamic.

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