by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) In the world of 3D animation, giving an inanimate object a personality, emotions and motivations is not a trivial exercise. It’s all too easy to stray into ‘cartoony’ humour, which may undermine the brand and the message.
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Take a beer bottle. It doesn’t have a face or limbs. To animate it and give it character requires something special in the hands of skilled artists; and this is what Amstel has done with the launch campaign for Amstel Lite: ‘Make Your Play’.
The launch of a new ‘light’ beer, into a market that is already dominated by one or two other brands, is not an exercise to be undertaken lightly.
The campaign is being handled by Owen Kessel Leo Burnett (OKLB), and the trio of ads that spearhead the launch have been produced by Velocity Films, under the direction of Keith Rose.
Each ad begins in the same way, with the journey of a bottle in the beer-bottling plant, from washing and being filled with beer to the cap and label being put onto it. It’s beautiful 3D animation, with plenty of focus on the ‘Lite’ aspect of the logo. The animation transitions seamlessly into ‘live-action’ footage of the crate being loaded into a delivery van. From here, each ad moves into different scenarios that illustrate the concept of ‘make your play’.
OKLB TVC for Amstel Lite: “Make Your Play — The Barber”
OKLB TVC for Amstel Lite: “Make Your Play — The Romantic”
In ‘The Romantic’, the bottle flies into an apartment building (or perhaps it’s a university dorm), as three guys walk down the passage. The bottle knocks on the door, and a pretty girl opens it. As she picks up the bottle, the more attentive one of the guys makes his play — grabs a flower from a nearby display and presents it to the young lady, who naturally finds him charming.
OKLB TVC for Amstel Lite: “Make Your Play — The Drummer”
So, yes, the scenarios are essentially fantasy — but that’s okay — we need a little fantasy in our lives. Each story has its own charm, and the characters are all archetypal for the brand: young, upwardly mobile, urban males, who are the main target of the brand.
These are guys who consider themselves to be that little bit more sophisticated and appreciative of ‘the finer things in life’. It’s someone who can think on his feet and be prepared to take advantage of any situation.
Focus is social
The focus of each story is the people, rather than the act of drinking beer. It’s about the culture of being social and sociable, rather than the obvious act of having a beer with your mates.
Even though the product is branded as ‘Lite’, part of the brand strategy is to retain the core values of the Amstel brand, which is “slow brewed, extra matured”. The idea is that, even though the beer is lighter in calories and alcohol content, it is still full-flavoured and refreshing.
To quote Donovan Bryan, executive creative director at OKLB, “Amstel Lite is more playful; we see it as the Prince Harry of the two princes. You know, the one you’d rather go out with. William is more Lager-like, a bit more serious and meaningful, while Harry is about being out and about with your mates, having fun, enjoying life to the fullest — and being able to remember it all the next morning!”
The campaign is also being rolled out in other media, from in-store activations to social media, capitalising on some 250 000 Facebook fans, as well as Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Well thought-out
The TV ads are testament to a well thought-out campaign to launch a product into a highly competitive market.
‘Cheers’ to OKLB and all the creative effort that went into making something that is different, memorable and effective.
Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.
If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.
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