By Andrew Starke
Fosters has declared itself pleased with the initial reaction to its new Victoria Bitter advertising campaign, despite it being too early to tell what effect this will have on sales.
The much anticipated new VB advert “The Regulars” first flighted on Wednesday night (Jul 8) during the npower Ashes telecast on SBS.
The ad captures ‘groups’ of Aussies, who share pastimes, professions, a passion or some other leftfield connection, marching under banners like: “Blokes punching above their weight”; “Men who’ve had their arm in a cow”; “Guys who peaked in high school”; “Meat tray winners”; “Blokes who’ve done the phantom”; “The manscapers” ; “Guys who claim to have punched a shark”; “The Brewers” and; “The miniature bat signers”.
Celebrity cameos in the advert include: Michael Clarke, Wally Lewis, Paul De Gelder, Scott Cam, Molly Meldrum, Peter Russell Clarke, Dean Jones, Michael Klim, Billy Brownless and Greg Evans.
“At their heart, our new VB ads are about a beer at the pub with your mates but they’re brought to life in a way that is uniquely Australian,” CUB marketing director Peter Sinclair said. “There are the classic VB trademarks but it’s definitely a new take – both from a creative and launch to market standpoint.”
The new VB commercial was shot in Ballarat and is one of the largest beer commercials ever produced in Australia boasting a 1500 plus cast and a 150 person strong crew.
The TV ad is part of a much bigger campaign that includes VB’s first ever dedicated brand website, which can be found here.
There will also be print, radio, outdoor, on line and “The Regulars” will be brought to life in store through point of sale and refreshed packaging.
The TV commercials include 120 second, 60 second, 30 second (x 4) and 15 second (x 8) spots.