When you imagine Christmas you probably imagine a time for sharing, for giving, a time for family spending quality time together with looks of joy and surprise, unwrapping presents.

But that’s actually not the whole truth, is it? Which is why Carlton Dry, the beer that prides itself on being uncomplicated, is taking a bit of a stab at all the stuff that complicates a wonderful Christmas – the shopping traffic jams in the carpark, the office hook-ups, even having your racist auntie over for lunch.

And in true holiday fashion, this doesn’t come in the form of a traditional beer ad, but the true medium of Christmas: the celebratory seasonal song. Adapting the iconic Andy Williams song “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” to be more fitting for the times, the song is titled “It’s The Most Wonderful Time For A Beer”.

The rewritten lyrics shout out all complicated things that come at Christmas time, and are performed by Australian crooner Gregg Arthur. The song was arranged and produced by Rumble Studios with a live big band recorded at 301 Studios. The song is available to play over your Christmas lunch or unwrapping of presents via Spotify, YouTube, and will also air in innovative full-length radio placements.

Supporting the song is a very festive karaoke-style video (so we can all learn the song words) produced by Photoplay and directed by Scott Otto Anderson. There’s even specially made slabs of Carlton Dry that sing the full song when opened, using the same technology as musical birthday cards – as well as a run of limited edition vinyl records distributed to influencers and media personalities. Social content to tie into the campaign has been produced by Carlton United Breweries’ in-house agency, Cubhouse.

“The writing was on the wall for the Andy Williams’ classic song, and I think Mariah has owned the airwaves for long enough,” said Tom Martin Special Group ECD.

“Yes if we can rescue just a few people’s Christmases from Mariah and maybe Bublé I’ll feel like our job might be done,” added Julian Schreiber ECD Special Group.

Carlton Dry’s associate director, Hayden Turner, “We know there are plenty of Aussies out there who aren’t terribly stoked about Christmas and are getting a touch over listening to the same songs about a ‘perfect’ Christmas every year. This song is for them. And in the spirit of some healthy Christmas competition, we’ve made it our only Christmas wish to dismantle Queen Mariah’s throne, even just for one day.”

The campaign will run from November 26.

Credits

Creative Agency: Special Group Australia

CEO, Partner: Lindsey Evans

Managing Director, Partner: Cade Heyde

Executive Creative Directors, Partners: Tom Martin, Julian Schreiber

Creative Directors: Jade Manning, Vincent Osmond

Senior Creatives:  Alastair Flack, Mark Starmarch

Team Lead: Tori Lopez

Business Manager: Laura Little

Executive Producer: Paul Johnston

Producer: Emily Willis

CUB Vice President of Marketing: Brian Phan

Carlton Dry Associate Director: Hayden Turner

Carlton Dry Brand Manager: Deanna Christian

Production Company: Photoplay

Director: Scott Otto Anderson

Executive Producer: Oliver Lawrence

Director of Photography: Simon Ozolins

Editor: Mark Bennett

Post Production: White Chocolate

Music and Sound House:  Rumble Studios

Executive Producer:  Michael Gie

Music Supervisor:  Sharika Toth

Lead Composer: Johnny Green

Sound Engineer: Liam Annert

Photographer: Milos Mlynarik

Media agency: PHD