VB is dumping its “hard-earned thirst” tagline it has been using for more than 40 years in a bid to attract new drinkers to the brand and revive flat lining sales.
David “Nobby” Nobay, creative chairman at Droga5 which is masterminding a major new VB marketing campaign said it was “time to move on” from the perception of VB as being a blue collar worker’s beer.
“We have to honour the base of VB drinkers, but at the same time we have to widen the lens. We have to seed a point of view and personality so we become enticing for a new generation. If you are a tradie, you don’t think yourself as blue collar anymore, you think of yourself as an entrepreneur. The landscape has changed and VB need to reflect that change,” he said.
Nobay, together with Foster’s head of beer Peter Sinclair, held a series of briefings for trade and business media at a Sydney pub last Friday where journalists were shown a “making of” video of the new VB “Regulars” campaign which was filmed with 1500 extras over three days in Ballart last month.
The 10 hours of footage are currently in post production with the ads expected to launch in August in time for summer.
The campaign features groups of Aussies marching under irreverent banners such as “Blokes who punch above their weight”, a reference to unattractive men with glamorous girlfriends, “Manscapers”; a group of metrosexual men, and “Sheilas named Shelia”. They are being cheered on by celebrities such as Molly Meldrum, Michael Clarke and Greg Evans.
The campaign is expected to attract a strong social media element, with VB hoping Facebook groups will be set up to reflect quintessentially Australian groups.
Sinclair refused to disclose how much was being spent on media for the campaign, saying only the investment will be “significantly more” in the VB brand during the next financial year.
While VB remains the top selling beer in the country, sales have fallen flat in recent years. VB currently has 43% of the traditional beer market. Sinclair dismissed claims from rival Lion Nathan that VB will lose its crown as the top selling brand to XXXX Gold within three years.
The campaign is one of the most keenly awaited in Australian advertising following the decision by Foster’s to hand Droga 5 its business before it had even opened it doors 15 months ago.
