Japan is very cool in the world of millennials. Beer, not so much.

According to data from the Beer Institute, drinkers chose beer only 49.7% than half of the time they went for an alcoholic drink in 2017, a significant fall from 60.8% in the mid-1990s. Much of this drop is attributed to millennials turning away from beer, especially big brand beers. Wine and spirits drinking has remained stable. Moreover, a report from Berenberg Research suggests that Gen Z will be the first generation to prefer spirits over both beer and wine.

DDB New Zealand is hoping to make Steinlager Tokyo Dry as cool as Japan among millennials by putting the two together and adding a healthy dose of hip-hop –an urban meets trad remix of the massive 1986 New Zealand hit, Slice of Heaven, by Dave Dobbyn and a montage of trademark Japanese pop culture sequences.

The remix includes contemporary and traditional sounds from Karaoke, J-Pop, and Electropop with the traditional instruments of Shamisen and Taiko drums. The remake was composed and produced by Kiwi, Cam Ballantyne of Beatworms.

https://youtu.be/IM8Oo3vgGFM

DDB chief creative officer, Damon Stapleton, commented, “Slice of Heaven is an unmistakable Kiwi classic that still conjures so much feel-good, sing-a-long enthusiasm from New Zealanders young and old. We loved the idea of taking something so iconic and recreating it in a modern, Japanese way, just like Steinlager did when it launched Tokyo Dry.”

Dobbyn added, “When I wrote the lyrics ‘da da da’ I never imagined them to be some of the best lyrics I’d ever written, and that 33 years later Slice of Heaven would still be so catchy and recreated in this way. I’m impressed with how all the sounds have come together!”

Dave Pearce, brand director of domestic beer & craft at Steinlager, noted, “It’s been a lot of fun to take a tune that’s ingrained in all our minds and remake it in a way that presents it in a new and exciting form. Shooting the campaign in Tokyo allowed the team to do this in a really authentic, interesting way, and we had some great Japanese talent to work with to make this possible. This track perfectly embodies Tokyo Dry.”

The new campaign is running on TV, cinema and digital channels, with a supporting street poster and billboard campaign.

Credits:

Agency: DDB New Zealand
Chief Creative Officer: Damon Stapleton
Executive Creative Director: Shane Bradnick
Creative Directors: James Conner & Christie Cooper
Lead Partner: Jennifer Travers
Senior Business Manager: Michael Doolan
Executive Planning Director: Lucinda Sherborne
Executive Producer: Judy Thompson
Senior TV Producer: Samantha Royal

Production Company: Goodoil

Director: Joel Kefali
Executive Producer: Mark Foster
Business Director: George Mackenzie
Producer: Andrew Mclean

Line Production: Mr Positive
Line Producer: Peter Grasse

DoP: Germaine McMicking
Offline Editor: Mark Burnett @ The Editors
Colourist: Dave Gibson
Online: Stu Bedford @ The Machine Room

Music Arranger & Producer: Cam Ballantyne @ Beatworms
Slice of Heaven written by Dave Dobbyn, published by Native Tongue
Music Licensing: Jonathan Mihaljevich, Franklin Road
Dave Dobbyn Management: Lorraine Barry
Media: Zenith New Zealand
PR: The PR Shop

Client: Lion New Zealand
National Marketing Director: Craig Baldie
Brand Director – Domestic Beer & Craft: Dave Pearce
Brand Manager – Steinlager: Kate Abercrombie