Heineken ‘Ghosted Bar’ campaign urges young people to stop work and socialize with friends
Heineken has continued its campaign against Asia’s culture of overworking with a new spot encouraging young people to leave work on time and socialize with friends.
‘The Ghosted Bar’ campaign, which stars Korean actor Park Hyung Sik, aims to inspire young people to "work responsibly" and not let their friends down by ‘ghosting’ them and working instead.
The campaign, which was created by LePub, launched with an Instagram video shared by Park with his 10.9 million followers. The video appeared to show paranormal activity in a bar with footage of beer glasses moving on their own and bar stools sliding across the room.
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The video was revealed to be part of Heineken’s campaign, which highlights how a friend stuck in the office is a ghost at the bar, leaving friends hanging out with their ‘ghost’ instead.
The campaign is based on research by Heineken, conducted by YouGov, which revealed 45% of young people in Singapore and Malaysia ‘ghost’ their friends due to work commitments. What's more, 64.5% feel burned out at work, and 42.5% believe work has impacted their relationships with friends and partners.
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The campaign aims to help young people shift away from the culture of overworking and enjoy socializing instead.
The campaign is being shared socially by Park Hyung Sik, in addition to 15 influencers from Singapore and Malaysia across Instagram and Tik Tok.
The social videos are supported by activations in Singapore and Malaysia, including ‘ghosted bar’ experiences in Singapore and Malaysia. The campaign also includes an online Ghost Generator, which can be used to remind friends to leave work on time by vaporising them into ghosts.
Bram Westenbrink, the global head of Heineken brand, says: “Ghosted Bar is an amazing new chapter dedicated to the #WorkResponsibly platform that is raising awareness of the sensitive work-life balance issue around the world. Heineken has always encouraged and fostered socialization and healthy human connections as we feel that workers need to embrace more social and leisure time. We’re thrilled to bring this platform to Singapore and Malaysia as a reminder to leave your duties on time and not let your social life fall behind."
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Bruno Bertelli, the global CEO of Le Pub, global CCO of Publicis Worldwide CCO of Publicis Groupe Italy, says: “When you don't leave work on time for fear of letting down your coworkers or because of societal pressures, you let someone else down: your friends. Heineken’s Ghosted Bar campaign reminds you to leave the office after an honest day at work to live your social life to its fullest.
“This is what #WorkResponsibly is all about. By collaborating with global Korean actor Park Hyung Sik, the brand is encouraging people to clock off work on time, prioritize and acknowledge self-care, and rebuild work culture from a well-being perspective."
The Ghosted Bar is the third #WorkResponsibly campaign by Heineken. It follows the launch of The Closer in June 2022 and The Office Cleaners in December 2022.