Dentsu Creative has partnered with Great Northern to bring back The Great Shout for a second year, transforming one of Australia’s most familiar pub rituals into a large-scale fundraising platform supporting farmers through Rural Aid. The campaign execution was awarded in a competitive PR tender process for The Great Shout.
Having returned during the NRL’s Magic Round (14 – 17 May, 2026) last weekend, the integrated campaign centres around the symbolic ringing at Suncorp Stadium of the Great Northern ‘Can Bell’, a creative device incorporating a beer can design to rally fans to “shout a round” for Queensland farmers doing it tough.
The campaign spanned live stadium integration, experiential activations, retail and venue partnerships, social, and earned media, with every schooner of Great Northern Super Crisp purchased at Suncorp Stadium across the weekend triggering a 50c donation to Rural Aid. The initiative also extended to more than 200 participating pubs and clubs across Queensland through Great Northern keg sales.
The Great Shout builds on the insight that shouting a mate a beer is a well-known and generous act in Australian culture, and the campaign reimagines that behaviour to deliver tangible support to rural communities impacted by drought, flooding and rising costs.
Dentsu executive creative director Zac Pritchard said: “For this year’s edition of ‘The Great Shout’ we wanted to up the ante. We started with a symbol synonymous with ‘Aussie pub shouting’ behaviour, the bar bell, and transformed it into something memorable” the ‘Can Bell’. And it was everywhere – in stadium, on TV, in billboards, on mobiles, in pubs and even at Magic Round.
“Along with the awesome partnership with the team at Asahi, it’s been a great demonstration of DC working seamlessly with our earned capability. The work is excellent, the coverage rolled in and hopefully the donations to Rural Aid match the effort we’ve put in bringing this campaign to life.”
The second-year evolution of the campaign saw the activation scale significantly, with the ambitious goal to raise more than $600,000, double the amount raised in 2025. The ‘Last Call on the Great Shout’ will take place from 18-31 May as final push on this goal.
Great Northern spokesperson Ian Giles said the campaign continues to resonate because it connects deeply with both the brand and its audience: “Great Northern has always stood for mateship and community, so The Great Shout is a natural extension of that. Magic Round brings together fans from all over the country, making it the perfect stage to rally Australians behind farmers who need support.”
Rural Aid CEO John Warlters added: “Creative campaigns like The Great Shout play a vital role in raising awareness of the challenges faced by farmers and rural communities. As a charity that relies on public donations, Rural Aid depends on this awareness to drive support and ensure practical help continues reaching those who need it most.”
The Great Shout launched at Magic Round this past weekend, with consumers also able to donate directly online.
Credits
Client: Great Northern
General Manager Brand and Portfolio Asahi Beverages: Lauren Fildes
Head of Beer Brands at Asahi Beverages: Ben Eyles
Great Northern Brewing Co Marketing Manager: Zac Gelman
Great Northern Brewing Co Brand Manager: Patrick Wallace
Great Northern Brewing Co Assistant Brand Manager: Chloe Brown
Social: 1House
Partner: Rural Aid
Media: PHD
Creative and PR: Dentsu Creative
Executive Creative Director: Zac Pritchard
General Manager, Earned and Social: Madeleine Page
Chief Strategy Officer: Graham Alvarez-Jarratt
Chief Practice Officer: David Halter
Copywriter: Lachlan Collie
Art Director: Rowan Marsh-Croft
Designer: Paris Elwood
National Head of Production: Craig Sloane
Account Director: Micayla Pretorius
Account Manager: Sarah Male
Senior Account Executive: Sophia Cull
Account Executive: Maddi Webber
