If you’ve been fortunate enough to see Stella Artois’ latest commercial then you’ve been fortunate enough to see the epitome of good advertising–coupled with charity. They’ve teamed up with Water.org to make a compelling campaign that’s got people talking about a beer that, let’s be honest, is usually the second best beer commercial in the super bowl (ahem, Budweiser and that puppy, anyone?). Basically, for every Stella Artois golden-rimmed chalice that is bought, clean water is provided to a woman in a developing country—one where clean water is rare or even non-existent—for five years. The commercial is concise and sticks with its brand; so what else makes it great?
- It lets You be the Giver: Many companies try to market their charity related campaigns with a poker-styled “we will raise you” meaning whatever they sell, they will meet to a certain extent. This is a wrong choice for several reasons but mainly it sets an, albeit unintentional, greedy tone. Plus, it can resonate as haughty and selfish, even though it’s giving. “Buy a Lady a Drink” literally makes You the giver and subconsciously makes you feel good. When you give the reins to the purchaser you give them the positive vibe.
- It Targets the Receiver with the Flair of an Ad: The ad is in modern terms “on point” that is to say it’s directed at their target clientele age 25-40 and exhibits everything that the middle to upper middle class wants to encompass: charity, class and style.
- It Never Loses Its Voice: Through this ad Stella Artois never sacrifices who it is for the sake of charity. The two are compatible; which is a hard thing to pull off for an ad campaign. Stella could have let their charity work be a step in a new direction and speak for itself, but they didn’t. They made their charity contribution a part of whom they are—they never lost their identity through it. This makes them resonate throughout the entirety of the ad.
Ultimately the ad is all about giving, and giving is a part of the cultural conversation of awareness and most of those cultural conversations begin in the establishments where people gather, e.g., bars. Stella Artois has tapped in to a charitable and branding mine laced with gold; much like their chalice—everyone benefits.