To defy the status quo against anti-social stereotypes, Heineken, the global beer brand, is targeting gamers with the message ‘not all nights out are out’ as a way of defying the usual norm by raising a glass to the gaming community. The perception-shifting campaign is designed to position online activities as forms of socializing.
The global beer brand has leveraged gaming to shift away from what has been termed antisocial stereotype.
Over the years, gaming is often stereotyped as a reclusive pastime, but Heineken is challenging that notion with a celebration of its community spirit.
The global campaign launches in Brazil because it is one of the largest gaming markets in the world, with 88% of the population playing video games on some type of device. Beyond the commercial, the campaign includes several gaming activities. “In-Games Bars” will offer vouchers for Heineken products within 2,700 mobile games, while delivery food and drink app IFood will allow gamers to order the brand’s beverages.
The beer brand’s first major campaign dedicated to gamers taps into an insight well-known among that audience online games are just another way to socialize. A film, titled Just Another Night Out, tells the story of Alex and three friends who are organizing a time to hang out.
Set in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, the ad shows the group texting each other from various locations including a boxing ring, a barber’s chair and an orchestra rehearsal as they arrange to meet up that night. As they rush to make it on time, grabbing bottles of Heineken from their fridges, it’s revealed that they are meeting online in a game rather than a bar. Not all nights out are out,” the endline said.
Heineken has partnered with São Paulo supermarket chain St. Marche for a “Beer Matchmaking” experience meeting a common complaint of gamers trying to connect with others. Through a limited-edition Heineken bottle with a QR code, players can find matches according to their favourite type of game.
The brand will also partner with streaming platform Twitch and TikTok for a series of gaming challenges.
Heineken 0.0 Is Bringing Non Alcoholic Beer to the Super Bowl. Publicis Groupe creative shop Le Pub developed the campaign through its gaming and innovation division Le Garage. Frederic Planchon directed the film through production company Academy Films.
With this campaign, Heineken wants to break the stereotype of gaming as an anti-social hobby, said Eduardo Picarelli, director of the brand’s business unit in Brazil.
“We entered the universe of games because we have something in common: the fact that socialization is both the core of our brand and the gamer community,” Picarelli said in a statement. “The role chosen for Heineken in this campaign is to demystify the image of the gamer isolated from friends.”
Heineken previously ventured into gaming culture in 2021, with non-alcoholic beverage Heineken 0.0 sponsoring an online tournament with Formula 1 called Player 0.0, which continued into 2022.
(ME)