Irish people love the idea of drinking stout, but they don’t always love the taste of it. The most common complaint is that it can be too bitter. So Heineken Ireland decided to create a stout that is simply less bitter. They called it Island’s Edge.
Twelve months since its launch, Island’s Edge has released its latest campaign with Publicis Dublin: “It’s better, less bitter”.
The campaign salutes those who let go of their bitterness and share the belief that life, much like stout, is better less bitter. Directed by David Shane and produced by O Positive Films, this spot is set in a cozy Irish pub and shows how one customer overhearing that Island’s Edge is “just less bitter” quickly turns into customers from every corner of the pub stepping forward with announcements that show they are less bitter too.
Ger Roe, board creative director at Publicis Dublin, said, “While Ireland is often recognized as being one of the friendliest countries in the world we do tend to hold onto our hurts for a time. The key thing that makes Irish people different from others is that we’re pretty good at laughing at them too.”
Roe said with this campaign, they needed to “be authentic but do it with a bit of personality. With a key product differentiator of ‘less bitterness’ it gave us a brilliant jumping off point. It also allowed us to leverage that emotional truth about Irish people while giving us an opportunity to differentiate with our brand personality too. We loved the idea of people trying to move on or hide their bitterness. David Shane is a master at getting authentic comedic performances out of actors and totally got what we were trying to do. Because much like Island’s Edge Irish stout, the clever and entertaining part is hiding the bitterness. It’s still there, just a bit less of it.”
Shane shared, “There’s nothing more interesting to me than people trying not to reveal what they’re really thinking. There were so many slights and resentments under the surface of this smart hilarious script. It has everything I’m always looking for in an ad and rarely see.”
CreditsClient Heineken Ireland Agency Publicis Dublin Ger Roe, board creative director; Peter Dobbyn, creative director; Paul O’Loughlin, sr. copywriter; Chloe Hanratty, head of strategic planning; Denisse Achata, strategic planning director; Niamh Skelly, head of production; Claire Boylan, content producer; Philip Byrne, content director. Production Company O Positive David Shane, director; Ralph Laucella, Marc Grill, exec producers; Nell Jordan, producer; Sebastian Blenkov, DP; Michael Clancy, director asst. Editorial Assembly Rooms Adam Spivey, editor. ProductionService Company Saturday Films. Sound Design Folding Waves. Media Agency Dentsu Research MCCP Kay McCarthy, managing director; Mary Sheahan, insight director
The Best Work You May Never See: C3P, No Fixed Address Show Us There Are No “Safe Spaces” In Canada When Kids Are Online
Creative agency No Fixed Address has partnered with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) to raise awareness about the alarming increase in online child sexual exploitation in Canada. The “Safe Spaces” campaign alerts parents to the fact that nowhere is currently safe for a Canadian child--not their school, not their playground, not even their own bedroom--as soon as they’re online.
This “Safe Spaces” public service film--directed by Amélie Hardy via production company Carton Rouge--features the mothers of six victims of online sexual exploitation, telling their kid’s stories from the same places they assumed their child would be safe. These courageous moms have not only suffered the nightmare of what happened to their children, they’ve suffered under the assumption by many Canadians that it is somehow their fault for not keeping their children safe. This is the preconception the “Safe Spaces” campaign seeks to change. This can happen to anyone. Predators are everywhere online. And they’re targeting everyone. The campaign is urging Canadians to support the federal government’s Online Harms Bill, which would require social media companies to provide meaningful protection to children online.
“These courageous moms chose to share their heartbreaking stories to help Canadians understand why we desperately need legislation to protect our children from dangerous spaces online, just like we do offline,” said Lianna McDonald, executive director of C3P. “This is why we need safety regulations for the platforms kids use every day, as proposed in the Online Harms Bill.”
Alexis Bronstorph, chief creative officer at No Fixed Address, said, “We were blown away by the courage of these moms for sharing their stories.... Read More