'Don't buy the advertising' says Brewdog as it prepares to give away 1m free pints
BrewDog has vowed to give away 1m pints of its flagship Punk IPA in what it is dubbing "the world's biggest sampling campaign" led by the brand's distinctly anti-advertising advertising.
BrewDog, Don't Buy The Advertising campaign
Social, digital, press and outdoor creative has been devised under the headline of 'Don't believe the hype', with creative urging users to 'Make up your own mind' when it comes to ordering craft beer and – ironically – telling them: 'Don't believe the advertising'.
A more detailed poster explains why BrewDog is 'putting out faith in our beer and our money where our mouth is' with regards to distributing 7,000 bathtubs of free beer.
The sampling activity hopes to convert 1 million people into craft beer lovers over the next four weeks by directing them to a website where they can download a beer token.
Brewdog believes craft IPA will become more popular than a typical lager in the UK over the next 10 years, and hopes its latest marketing activity will speed up the process.
London indie shop Isobel was appointed to create the campaign. Jamie Williams, partner at the agency, said: “... we always felt the best and most genuine way to recruit new BrewDog drinkers was to give as many people as possible the opportunity to try it. And 1 million people sounded like a good number.
"As a creative agency, asking people ‘not to buy the advertising’ might sound odd, but we hope people will appreciate this honesty, and judge the beer for themselves."
James Watt, BrewDog’s cofounder said: “The millions of people around the UK who call Punk IPA their favourite beer cannot be wrong, that’s why we’re certain a million more will join them after experiencing their first pint of Punk.”
BrewDog has never been shy of a marketing stunt. Earlier this year, it won a legal battle against Elvis Presley’s estate to use the singer’s first name in a flagship beer product.
The brand also made headlines last year when it announced its plan to open a craft beer bar on the border between the US and Mexico.
