by Mandy & Jon (@mandyldewaal) Let’s just lighten up on the hipsters for a moment, shall we? OK then. Let’s not. >:)
But it does look as if Carlsberg is targeting the hipster market with its recent spot, “If Carlsberg Did Haircuts”. And, we all know that one of the most-prized personal assets of that human subspecies known as ‘the hipster’ is their hair — both cranial and facial.
So what if Carlsberg — the beer that claims to aim for perfection with the slogan, “Probably the best beer in the world” — got into the hair business?
This ‘what if’ is the premise for Carlberg’s commercial movie. The answer? If Carlsberg, the ‘perfect’ beer company, opened a hair salon — you could expect nothing less than the perfect cut.
What is the ‘perfect cut’?
- Take the barbershop quartet and give it a radical makeover, resplendent with retro catsuits and she-bop beat — check.
- A smart, cynical, no-nonsense barber who can change worlds at the snap of a finger — check.
- Pinball machines — check.
- Beer on tap — of course.
- Awesome styling — what a question.
- A nostalgic, almost steam-punk inspired barber shop that’s pretty innocuous on the outside but complete magic on the inside? Check.
Now let’s look at the movie. A man goes into a seemingly ordinary barber shop. Inside it looks as if he’s stepped back in time to the ’50s. Even the barber is old-school, in a crisp white shirt and thin black tie.
“Hi. Have you booked?” asks the barber.
“No,” says the guy.
“Excellent — follow me,” responds the barber, who then leads the hipsterish-looking dude into another room. And what a room. This ‘underground’ barber goes from drab to fab, with a performance room that looks like a combination between a 1950s nightclub and a stylish man-cave. With a snap of the barber’s fingers, the (modified) barbershop quartet — four lovelies with matching hairdos — burst into harmonious song.
The barber shows the man to his seat. In the montage that follows, the man is served a fresh glass of Carlsberg lager, and then the magic really starts to happen.
The mirrors he’s looking into slide up to reveal a placid fjord, and one customer has a fishing rod out through the open window. The guy in the next seat, who is bald, gets a mohawk from a shaver with a ‘reverse’ setting, which means he goes from being bare-headed to mohawkish magnificence in one sleek move.
When the hero of this commercial flick leaves the perfect barber shop, he looks super-fly. Why, even his dog has been given a trendy hipster moustache. Woof!
This movie is absurd, wonderful and is a visual feast. It’s pure fantasy, but fits perfectly with the Carlsberg brand identity, which has always been a little tongue-in-cheek.
The “Haircuts” ad is a continuation of Carlsberg’s fantasy series, “If Carlsberg Did…” — which started in February with “If Carlsberg Did Supermarkets”. And it coincides with the release of Carlsberg’s own in-house beauty products for men: shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, all containing freeze-dried beer as one of the key ingredients.
When last we looked at the Carlsberg Beer Beauty shopping site, the 63-euro package of three products was out of stock — so clearly the response to the brand’s advertising been good.
The moral of this movie. How do you own beer? By being unashamedly the best. How do you cleverly promote your new grooming range for men and sell beer at the same time? With an oh-so clever and ridiculously stylin’ advert called “If Carlsberg Did Haircuts”.
Boom! And that folks is how to create a brand that people will love even if they’re not hipsters. Perfection. Works every time.
Until next time. Don’t be hating the hipsters, peeps. Remember. They’re only human.
;)
Roll credits:
Agency: 72andSunnyAmsterdam
Creative director: Matt Heck
Director: Francois Rousselet through Division Paris
Art director: Roger Belles
Copywriters: Jorge Brandao and Carlos Font
Music: Technotronic — Pump up the Jam
Read more:
- These 4 companies produce almost half of the world’s beer… and make 74% of the profits in Business Insider.
- Carlsberg Makes the Most NFSW Ad Ever, Along With a Few Other Gems It’s also pretty great at karaoke, probably By Tim Nudd at AdWeek’s AdFreak.
- Carlsberg Makes Londoners Happy With a Billboard That Gives Out Free Beer Help yourself to a cheeky pint By Tim Nudd at AdWeek’s AdFreak.
Mandy de Waal and Jon Pienaar are writers, and are the co-founders of Jo!Ma Media — a company that creates kief content.
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