It has been a while since the world has been treated to the glory of great beer humour. Engine Creative aka House 337’s campaign for Greene King’s Ice Breaker pale ale makes up for the wait.
The humorous VOD and social campaign riffs off the role of holding a drink to make social situations comfortable. The three 20-second spots let you know that Greene King’s Ice Breaker pale ale WON’T help people break the ice. “It’s just a beer” (but it is filled with hoppy goodness). The commercials are filled with delightful, relatable awkwardness.
The aim of the campaign, It’s Just a Name, is to build recognition and awareness of the craft beer and give it a memorable identity.
Annabel Clark, senior brand manager at Greene King, stated, “This is the first creative campaign of this size we have run for the brand, so we know it had to be bold and impactful. When the Engine team presented the creative idea, it felt so relevant to social situations we have all been in recently, as well as fitting with the brand name perfectly. Since launching the brand in 2019, Ice Breaker has been a firm favourite with consumers and is now the fasted growing pale ale in the UK market. We are really excited to see these exciting new ads take the brand to the next level.”
Steve Hawthorne, creative director at House 337, added, “As people emerge back into the world after the pandemic, they are having to rediscover social norms and the ability to break the ice in social situations. With a name like Ice Breaker you might think that this is the perfect beer to help you do just that. But you would be wrong. Very, very wrong. Ice Breaker won’t sharpen your social skills or fill awkward silences. All it will do is fill your mouth with delicious, unfiltered, hoppy pale ale.”
It’s Just a Name launched on August 22. The films will run on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Samsung CTV. Art director on the campaign is Doug Redfern and the copywriter is Joe Roberts.
Credits:
Client: Greene King
Marketing Director (Brewing & Brands):Will Hemmings
Marketing Controller: Alex Radcliffe
Senior Brand Manager: Annabel Clark
Ice Breaker Brand Manager: Amina Ali
Creative Agency: Engine Creative (House 337)
Creative Director: Steve Hawthorne
Art Director: Doug Redfern
Copywriter – Joe Roberts
Head of Strategy: Laura Sammarco
Strategist: George Poynter
Account Management: Kelly Mahon, Richard Williams, Harriet Pinnington
Client Managing Director: Ed Norrington
Agency Producer: Henry Davies
Production Company: Birth
Director: Devon Ferguson
Executive Producer: Kate Elson
Producer: Dominic Wilcox
DoP – Richard Mott
Editor: Spencer Ferszt @ Marshall Street Editors
Post-Production: Nineteen-Twenty
Grade: Kal Van Beers (Nineteen-Twenty)
Sound Design: Tony Rapaccioli @ Wave Studios
