Trawling through this week’s new campaigns, you have to wonder how many more brands can bolt on a packed Zoom screen or a coronavirus “stay at home” message or attempt to show how much they care in their advertising. Much more of this, and even we will be thinking that maybe Sir Martin Sorrell was right – just slam the brakes on everything…
Luckily all is not lost, however, as evidenced by this initiative from Carlsberg, which is supporting bars in its homeland of Denmark. The premise is simple; drinkers are being asked to adopt a keg, which they can fill up virtually from home now and exchange for real beer in a real bar as soon as they are able to reopen.
To take part, all beer guzzlers need to do is to down a bottle or can of Carlsberg at home during the lockdown and scan the label to add it to their virtual keg on Carlsberg’s Danish website.
They can fill their virtual keg with four beers, adding up to one beer a day. (Not much we admit, during this lockdown we have been glugging for England, let alone Denmark) but they can earn two post-lockdown pints, courtesy of Carlsberg, to share with a friend when visiting their favourite bar, pub or restaurant.
Carlsberg is backing #adoptakeg with a TV ad, created by Grey Europe, that finishes with a spin on Carlsberg’s long running strapline, saying: “Can we drink today like there is a tomorrow? Probably.”
The TV activity is also supported by a social media campaign created by AKQA that is running on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Carlsberg global brand director Julian Marsili said: “The hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard. The bars we love are empty, for good reason, and right now there’s nothing people can do but wait. With ‘Adopt a Keg’, we’ve enabled people to support their favourite bars, simply by enjoying a beer at home.
“By adopting a keg, people can drink like there is a tomorrow: giving us all something to look forward to and helping to kick-start the hospitality industry once it opens up again. Best of all, that first future beer with a friend at your favourite bar? It’s on Carlsberg.”
Grey global executive director for Carlsberg Graham Drew added: “Your own personal keg is a new model, it both gives you something to look forward to, and helps your favourite bar come back stronger. The moment the doors open again will be a critical event, retrieving your keg will be a part of that celebration.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
First up, any Carlsberg work must be tempered by the fact that the Danes kept the better stuff to themselves for 45 years and flooded the UK market with a drink that even dogs in the street would not touch. Quite why we had to wait so long for the Danish Pilsner is anyone’s guess, but at least it is drinkable now – any port in a storm and all that.
It’s also a shame that the Adopt a Keg scheme is not available in Blighty, because, let’s face it, the great British boozer is going to need all the help it can get to keep afloat. Even so, it’s quite a neat idea, although again you have to question why they have limited the keg to just four beers.
Still, to borrow a phrase, it’s “Probably one of the better Covid-19 campaigns this week”.
Decision Marketing Adometer: Not quite the full pint but a measured 8 out of 10
