VB: The Regulars
VB, an established Australian beer brand, aimed to reinforce its position as the quintessential Australian drinking beer. They needed to connect with a broad male audience by celebrating their diverse, authentic identities and fostering a sense of inclusive camaraderie, ultimately increasing brand relevance and consumption.
Creative Idea
The campaign humorously categorized diverse Australian men, uniting them under VB's inclusive banner.
The campaign celebrates diverse, uniquely Australian male archetypes, uniting them under the banner of VB, positioning the beer as the common thread that binds all "regulars" regardless of their quirks, fostering a sense of inclusive camaraderie.
Marching 1500 Regulars Through the Streets of Ballarat
Reconstructing a Legend's Voice
The production faced a significant hurdle: the brand’s iconic narrator, John Meillon, had passed away in 1989. To maintain continuity, the team digitally reconstructed his voice by isolating individual syllables from decades-old recordings. This allowed them to "build" new words Meillon had never actually spoken, such as "on tap," ensuring the 120-second anthem felt authentically VB.
A Beautiful Mind on Crack
The creative process at Droga5 Sydney was famously intense. Creative Directors Ant Blackley and Matty Burton reportedly rewrote the script over 100 times, covering their office walls in notes that Blackley described as looking like "A Beautiful Mind on crack." This meticulousness resulted in the creation of hyper-specific Australian archetypes, including groups like "The Manscapers," "Meat tray winners," and the "Azzas, Dazzas, and Shazzas."
Scaling the Great Leveller
Filmed in Ballarat, the shoot was a massive logistical undertaking involving a 150-person crew and a cast of over 1,500 people. The "marchers" were a mix of local residents, CUB employees, and a parade of icons including Wally Lewis, Michael Klim, and shark attack survivor Paul De Gelder.
The Risky Slogan Pivot
The campaign was a radical departure from tradition, famously ditching the 40-year-old "For a hard-earned thirst" tagline for "The Drinking Beer." While it drove 4.5 million YouTube views and improved brand equity for the first time in five years, the departure from the original slogan proved controversial. By 2012, the brand eventually returned to its heritage roots and original tagline to combat a decline in market share.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
VB, an iconic Australian beer, leveraged its deep-rooted connection to the nation's working-class culture and reputation as "the drinking beer."
Category
Beer advertising often presented generic mateship or aspirational lifestyles, overlooking the rich, specific tapestry of everyday Australian male identities.
Customer
The audience desired recognition and celebration of their authentic, diverse Australian identities, seeking common ground and camaraderie through shared experiences.
Culture
Australian culture, valuing larrikinism, mateship, and a strong sense of belonging, embraced a campaign that humorously categorized and united diverse blokes.
Company
VB, an iconic Australian beer, leveraged its deep-rooted connection to the nation's working-class culture and reputation as "the drinking beer."
Category
Beer advertising often presented generic mateship or aspirational lifestyles, overlooking the rich, specific tapestry of everyday Australian male identities.
Strategy:
Reaffirm the brand's role as the unifying symbol for diverse, authentic national identities.
Customer
The audience desired recognition and celebration of their authentic, diverse Australian identities, seeking common ground and camaraderie through shared experiences.
Culture
Australian culture, valuing larrikinism, mateship, and a strong sense of belonging, embraced a campaign that humorously categorized and united diverse blokes.
Strategy:
Reaffirm the brand's role as the unifying symbol for diverse, authentic national identities.
Strategy Technique
Find the Cultural Truth
The campaign taps into a deep understanding of diverse Australian male archetypes and their shared cultural identity. By reflecting these familiar, often humorous, truths, VB positioned itself as an authentic part of this collective experience.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Define, Label and Group
The campaign explicitly names and describes various Australian male archetypes with humorous labels. This technique effectively creates relatable, distinct groups, celebrating their unique identities while uniting them under the brand.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its ability to fuse sharp cultural insight and humor into a grand, unifying spectacle, effectively positioning VB beer as a symbol of authentic Australian camaraderie. It stands out by celebrating diverse male archetypes with clever wit and impressive production scale.
The ad's humor and relatability are driven by the brilliantly concise and culturally specific phrases on the banners and the warm, engaging voiceover, which perfectly captures the Australian vernacular and spirit.
The visual consistency of the diverse parade banners and costumes, combined with the realistic yet celebratory depiction of an Australian town and pub, creates an immersive and authentic brand world.
The creation of a large-scale, believable parade with numerous distinct groups, each with unique props and outfits, demonstrates a high level of attention to detail and logistical execution.
The sweeping aerial shots, dynamic tracking shots of the parade, and intimate close-ups of the participants, all expertly lit, effectively capture the grandeur, energy, and individual character of the event.
The campaign's magic truly comes from the seamless synergy between the insightful copywriting (which defines the characters) and the meticulous production design and cinematography (which bring them to life on a grand, believable scale), all underpinned by the unifying art direction.
