| Title | BELIEVE |
| Brand | LION BREWERIES |
| Product / Service | STEINLAGER BEER |
| Entrant | DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND |
| Entrant Company: | DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND |
| Advertising Agency: | DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Toby Talbot | DDB Group New Zealand | Group Executive Creative Director |
| Regan Grafton | DDB Group New Zealand | Creative Director |
| Damian Galvin | DDB Group New Zealand | Art Director |
| Rory McKechnie | DDB Group New Zealand | Copy Writer |
| Paul Hankinson | DDB Group New Zealand | Head of Copy |
| Judy Thompson | DDB Group New Zealand | Head of Television |
| Tania Jeram | DDB Group New Zealand | Agency Producer |
| Scott Wallace | DDB Group New Zealand | Managing Partner |
| Jonathan Rea | DDB Group New Zealand | Account Manager |
| Danny Philips | Lion Nathan | Beer Marketing & Sponsorship Director |
| Todd Gordon | Lion Nathan | Marketing Manager |
| Adam Stevens | Robbers Dog | Director |
| Mark Foster | Robbers Dog | Producer |
| Ginny Loane | DOP | |
| Andrew Beattie | Make-up design /prosthetics | |
| Paul Maxwell | Offline Editor | |
| Jon Cooper | Coopers of Franklin Road | Sound Design |
| Pete Ritchie | Toybox | Grade |
| Stefan Coory | Blockhead | Online |
| Peter Van der Fluit | Liquid Studios | Music Composer |
| Matt Webster | DDB RAPP Tribal | Copywriter |
New Zealand’s biggest event in decades, the Rugby World Cup was upon us. We needed to usurp official Rugby World Cup sponsor Heineken and create an association with the event, when we were legally forbidden from mentioning any connection between our brand and the event. Our campaign idea was to bring back the iconic white can that New Zealanders were drinking last time we won and hosted the World Cup, back in 1987. We then positioned the can as a lucky charm for this year’s cup. We used TV, online and print to create the story of a man saving his white can from ’87, for the next time the All Blacks won. Follow up communications encouraged consumers to do the same, and save one for the win. We managed to do this without ever mentioning the World Cup, the All Blacks, or any of the venues or dates of the tournament.
The Steinlager white can is currently the number one canned beer in the country with 2.5 of 3 million units sold, and a further run ordered. Tens of thousands of fans are now active followers of the brand online, we started with zero followers when the campaign launched. Prompted, consumers recall Steinlager as the most recognizable official supporter of the World Cup, even though it is not an official supporter at all. Even better, it polls twice as high as official beer Heineken. Steinlager currently enjoys the highest brand adoration level on record, with all 5 Steinlager variants also enjoying a halo sales effect.
A TV spot told the story of a fan saving a white Steinlager can from the original Rugby World Cup celebrations, for the next time they won. At the same time, we relaunched the white can in question, with announcement print and outdoor striking a nostalgic chord with the can and the tournament. Then, we launched our facebook app, The Steinlager Mantelpiece. Print and online drove fans here and invited them to save one of our white cans for the (world cup) win, on our virtual mantelpiece, just like the hero of the TVC had. They were incentivized to do this by the promise of All Black legends visiting fans’ homes to ensure their cans were where they said they were. The campaign will then hit another gear when the World Cup concludes, with holders of unopened white cans going into the draw to open them with the (hopefully) new world champion All Blacks.