Mexican beer brand Corona and charity Parley for the Oceans are taking their partnership against marine plastic pollution to the global stage by hijacking iconic symbols of paradise for today’s World Oceans Day (June 8^th 2018).

As part of the campaign, the partners have created a sculpture, The ‘Wave of Waste’, in Old Street, London, featuring Australian actor Chris Hemsworth (Marvel’s Thor) surfing in a wave of plastic collected in the UK.

Over the last few days, Londoners have been able to contribute to this installation by dropping off their own plastic waste at the site of the billboard.

Corona and Parley launched their partnership a year ago; the latest campaign sees Corona hijacking its own advertising and iconic visions of paradise, plus the classic Hawaiian shirt pattern, to reveal the impact of marine plastic pollution.

Corona is selling a new Hawaiian shirt on its website which features threads made from marine plastic pollution. The Parley Ocean Plastic is collected from the open ocean, remote islands, shorelines and coastal communities. The design subtly features everyday plastic items like toothbrushes and plastic bottles to represent the fact that the issue at a distance is hard to see, but pervasive up close. The limited-edition shirts are available in three colours and can be purchased at wslstore.com/corona for £53 ($70). Proceeds from each Corona Hawaiian shirt will go to Parley for the Oceans to help support its mission to protect our oceans.

Installations like the Old Street one will also be appearing in Melbourne, Santiago, Bogota, Santo Domingo and Lima, all made from plastic collected from local beaches. The London installation includes plastic collected by The Marine Conservation Society from Holywell beach, East Sussex.

“As a brand that is synonymous with the beach, we are seeing the destruction of shorelines and oceans up close,” says Felipe Ambra, Global VP of Corona. “Our ads usually showcase paradise the way we assume it to be, pristine and beautiful, but today it’s increasingly hard to find a beach without plastic. Through our work with Parley, we hope to reverse this trend. This World Oceans Day, Corona wants to remind the world that we all need to protect our beaches to continue enjoying them.”

Corona and Parley point out that roughly eight million metric tons of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean each year. To raise awareness of this fact, the brand is inserting plastic into other places it doesn’t belong. Corona is starting by twisting its own campaign tagline and imagery to show the unfortunate fate of paradise plagued by plastic pollution.

Last month, the partnership changed the name of the “Corona Bali Pro” World Surf League event to “Corona Bali Pro-tected”, to make the point that even the most remote and aspirational paradises around the world are suffering.

Corona and Parley are committed to protecting 100 islands around the world by 2020 (see 100IslandsProtected.com). Launched last year, the partnership is already working with local communities in the Maldives, Dominican Republic and Chile and will continue to scale up efforts in several more regions within the next year. Corona x Parley also announced a fundraising platform called Clean Waves in May that upcycles plastic pollution into fashion products for purchase, with all proceeds going to additional island protection.

Parley for the Oceans is a global network covering the creative industries, brands, governments and environmental groups aimed at protecting the oceans. The organization has formed alliances with major corporations including adidas, Anheuser Busch InBev (Corona), Intel and the United Nations.

Corona is the leading beer brand in the Mexico and the most popular Mexican beer worldwide, exported to more than 180 countries. The Corona brand is owned by Anheuser-Busch.

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Stella Artois, AB InBev’s premium beer brand, has announced a new UK promotional campaign as part of its global partnership with Water.org, aimed at helping give people in the developing world access to clean water. In the US, consumers can help provide water for third world inhabitants by buying special limited edition Stella chalices designed by local artists (image above shows the Indian chalice).

In the UK, Stella Artois x Water.org is hoping to motivate retailers and shoppers nationwide to take action and join its mission to end the global water crisis. The campaign is open to all retailers and runs for a month from February 4th 2018.

For every new co-branded limited-edition bottle or can of Stella Artois purchased, AB InBev will provide funding for access to one month of clean water to someone in the developing world. The donation mechanic is running across the range, with the donation mechanic remaining the same – for example, for every limited-edition 12-pack of Stella Artois sold, Stella Artois will help Water.org provide 12 months of clean water for one person in the developing world.

The campaign provides a tangible and easy way for customers and consumers to contribute to ending the global water crisis – the on-pack donation mechanic means that by simply selling or buying a pack of Stella Artois, customers and consumers are supporting the cause.

The two partners point out that one in 10 people lack access to safe water. Every day, millions of people in the developing world spend up to six hours collecting it – taking valuable time away from work, school and caring for families. In 2017, Stella Artois and Water.org announced a four-year partnership to help provide 3.5 million people with long-term, sustainable access to clean water by 2020.

To help retailers support the initiative further, Stella Artois is providing in store point of sale materials and digital advertising assets to drive awareness of the activity, and sales of Stella Artois. The campaign will also be supported by On Trade activity, PR, digital (inclusive of social), and advertising activations.

Jerry Maguire, Off Trade Sales Director for Stella Artois, says: “With the support of our customers and consumers, so far we have donated more than $8m to Water.org, helping to change the lives of more than 1 million people. However, there is still work to be done and we strongly believe that our customers in the Off Trade can play a key part to helping address the issue. Research shows that 70% of millennial shoppers consider a brands ethics and values when making a purchase. This is why we’ve created an Off Trade package that not only raises awareness of the cause, but also supports our customers from a business and reputational perspective.”

The UK activation follows the announcement of the latest US promotion in support of the partnership, which sees Stella Artois and Water.org selling a range of limited edition Stella chalices, designed by artists from developing world countries. A special TV ad featuring Matt Damon, co-founder of Water.org, will run during the Super Bowl. For every chalice sold, Stella will provide up to five years of water for one person in the developing world.

AB InBev UK Ltd is the UK trading subsidiary of Brazilian-Belgian global conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev, the biggest beer company in the world. Its global brands include Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois; international brands include Beck’s, Leffe, and Hoegaarden; and UK local brands include Bass and Boddingtons.

Water.org has been at the forefront of developing and delivering solutions to the global water crisis for more than 25 years. Founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, Water.org pioneers market-driven financial solutions to ensure all people have access to safe water and sanitation — giving women hope, children health and communities a future. To date, Water.org has positively transformed the lives of more than nine million people around the world.

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No alcohol beer Budweiser Prohibition has teamed up with Love Island star and personal trainer, Gabby Allen, to unveil a fleet of ‘beer floats’ that will travel the country giving away free Budweiser Prohibition Brew to UK consumers and help them ‘drink smart’ throughout 2018.

The campaign is part of AB InBev’s UK launch of Budweiser Prohibition Brew, the brand’s first alcohol-free beer.

To complement the partnership with Allen and the sampling push, Budweiser is also partnering with Time Out to raise awareness of the new Prohibition Brew and give a helping hand to consumers looking to moderate their drinking this January.

The partnership included a four-page cover wrap on the Tuesday 16th January issue, as well as the distribution of 50,000 product samples with each magazine at key stations across the capital, such as London Victoria, London Paddington, London Bridge and Liverpool Street. An additional 30,000 samples were distributed on the evening of Thursday 18^th January, targeting commuters as they started planning their weekends, who might be tempted to break their alcohol-free resolution.

Time Out has produced a digital hub, which will house content about the alcohol-free beer and advise Londoners on how they can make the most of going out with friends while moderating their alcohol consumption.

Budweiser Prohibition Brew is also working with street food operators Street Feast. Until 3^rd February, Dinerama Shoreditch and Giant Robot Canary Wharf will host the first-ever Budweiser Prohibition taste test, where people will be challenged to taste three different Budweiser beers and guess which is the new Prohibition brew – with winners receiving their next Bud for free.

The Budweiser Prohibition Brew campaign is being supported by an Out Of Home advertising campaign, as well as digital and social content across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. These elements will focus on Budweiser Prohibition Brew’s great taste, and show consumers that they can still enjoy a beer with friends if they choose not to drink. The social activity will lead consumers to the campaign micro-site, www.budprohibition.com, where they can sign up for a free can of Budweiser Prohibition, redeemable at Tesco.

AB InBev worked with content agency The Story Lab for the partnership with Time Out, while social creative is being handled by Elvis. Anomaly is handling the OOH creative, and the nationwide sampling campaign and the partnership with Gabby Allen is being handled by PR agency 3 Monkeys Zeno.

Sascha Cordes, Senior Brand Manager Budweiser, says: “We are incredibly excited to launch Budweiser Prohibition Brew to the UK, our first ever alcohol-free beer, and even more excited to unveil our fleet that will be delivering the brew up and down the UK, helping the nation stick to their goals this January and beyond. People today are increasingly drinking less alcohol, as part of the broader healthy-living trend. In 2018, we predict this trend to continue, and don’t think there could be a better time for us to launch Budweiser Prohibition Brew for people who are looking for the great taste of beer, but with 0% alcohol.”

In the first two weeks of January alone, Hitwise data suggests searches for “alcohol free beer” increased 171% – but the data also suggests that consumers are finding it hard to stick to their resolutions, with recent searches tailing off.

AB InBev UK research reveals that, as a nation, Britons are definitely drinking less alcohol – a trend that is being driven by millennials – with the low and no-alcohol beer category growing 19.5% in the UK over the past year.

Budweiser Prohibition is the latest beer in AB InBev’s low- and no-alcohol portfolio in the UK, which already includes the market-leading alcohol-free beer Beck’s Blue and Bud Light, brewed to 3.5% ABV.

The expansion of the low- and no-alcohol portfolio is part of AB InBev’s Global Smart Drinking Goals, which includes a pledge that 20% of its global beer volumes will be low-to-no alcohol by 2025, alongside deeper investments in programs that measurably shift social norms and behaviors around the harmful use of alcohol.

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AB InBev, the world’s biggest beer company, has been supporting its new alcohol-free beer, Budweiser Prohibition, with a UK anti-drink drive digital and Out Of Home campaign, plus a sampling drive through Tesco.

A major ad campaign centres on people getting home safely for Christmas. The global beer brand is supporting the Department for Transport (DfT) for its THINK! Christmas campaign, designed to tackle drink driving.

The OOH ads and the digital push run until December 31st 2017, delivering a series of festive but pertinent messages encouraging people to make smart drinking choices during the festive period and get home safely for Christmas.

A key part of the campaign is a nationwide giveaway of Budweiser Prohibition, via a digital Budweiser Christmas card from www.budprohibition.com, to be redeemed in Tesco outlets.

Rowan Chidgey, Marketing Manager for Budweiser UK, says: “As an iconic global beer brand, we not only have a responsibility to help fight important issues like drink driving, but also to make it easier for people to make smart drinking choices. We’re really pleased to be supporting THINK! to keep safety front of mind this Christmas and proud to make great products like Budweiser Prohibition, so party-goers can enjoy beer as well as moderation. We’ve put it at the heart of our responsible drinking campaign this year, so as many people as possible can celebrate this Christmas and get home safely.”

The THINK! drink drive campaign coincides with the National Police enforcement campaign, which runs throughout December.

While road casualties caused by drink driving have fallen dramatically in recent years, the latest statistics recorded 5,730 accidents and 8,470 casualties in England and Wales in 2015 due to drink driving.

Road Safety Minister Jesse Norman said: “Thanks to generations of THINK! campaigns, drink driving has become socially unacceptable, with an 88% drop in fatalities over the last three decades. This year’s THINK! campaign builds on that record, working to prevent this devastating behaviour, which puts so many lives at risk.”

This year’s Budweiser campaign is part of AB InBev’s Global Smart Drinking Goals, which seek to reduce the harmful use of alcohol with an investment of one billion dollars across the globe in marketing campaigns to influence social norms and change behaviours – to measurably decrease harmful alcohol use over the next ten years. One of the goals is for 20% of AB InBev’s volumes to be low-to-no alcohol by 2025. Budweiser Prohibition will be a major contributor to this goal as an alcohol-free beer.

AB InBev is a founding member of the UK self-regulatory body for alcohol marketing, the Portman Group, and a major funder of the independent Drinkaware Trust.

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Budweiser is giving New York beer lovers the chance to experience and taste history with the release of its limited-edition 1933 Repeal Reserve Amber Lager.

The recipe behind Repeal Reserve dates back to the pre-Prohibition era when Adolphus Busch created and brewed a special Amber Lager for his friends and local community to enjoy. Due to the onset of Prohibition in 1920, the beer wasn’t distributed widely outside the St. Louis area, but Budweiser is now releasing the historically-inspired recipe across the US to celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition, which took place on December 5^th, 1933.

To promote the new limited-edition 1933 Repeal Reserve Amber Lager, Budweiser is partnering with ride-share app Lyft and unleashing a fleet of vintage cars in Manhattan, New York, tomorrow (Wednesday, October 25^th, 2017).

“We are excited to mark the upcoming holiday season and the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition with this new brew based on a forgotten recipe,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president, Budweiser. “While Budweiser Repeal Reserve is a great tasting Amber Lager, it also tells the story of an important part of our history and gives reason for celebration.”

As part of the launch, the brand is bringing the Prohibition era to life by unveiling a fleet of antique cars in partnership with Lyft, Budweiser’s preferred safe rides partner. On Wednesday, October 25^th, New Yorkers aged 21 and over will have a chance to enjoy the Bud Vintage Mode and experience a ride in an authentic, vintage car. They can register for the rides by visiting  www.lyft.com/BudVintageMode.

During the specially-designed ride, passengers will cruise through the streets of New York, passing landmarks and neighbourhoods that were integral to Prohibition, while learning about the newly released beer.

“When Budweiser told us they wanted to offer a fleet of vintage cars to launch Repeal Reserve, we knew Lyft was the perfect option to celebrate the new recipe in a stylish and unexpected way,” said Melissa Waters, vice president of marketing, Lyft. “We encourage everyone to make the right choice to drink responsibly and keep our roads safe, and that’s why we continue to team up with Budweiser, a brand that shares the same commitment.”

Budweiser is also partnering with online beer delivery company Drizly, with a special code for $5.00 off their first purchase of 1933 Repeal Reserve, using the code Prohibition.

Budweiser, an American-style lager, was introduced in 1876 when company founder Adolphus Busch set out to create the United States’ first truly national beer brand – brewed to be universally popular and transcend regional tastes.

Lyft, founded in 2012, is the fastest-growing ride-share company in the U.S and is available to 95% of the US population.

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Stella Artois and Water.org used last week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos to call on international business leaders, corporations, media and consumers to join them in committing to help end the global water crisis.

Stella Artois signalled its own commitment to the effort by announcing a multi-year extension of the ‘Buy a Lady a Drink’ partnership with Water.org. Through this partnership, Stella Artois and Water.org aim to help provide 3.5 million people with long-term, sustainable access to clean water by 2020.

Water.org was founded more than 20 years ago by engineer and environmentalist Gary White and Hollywood film star Matt Damon. The charity pioneers innovative, community-driven and market-based initiatives to ensure all people have access to safe water and sanitation. To date, Water.org has positively transformed the lives of more than 5 million people around the world.

To mark the long-term partnership between Stella Artois and Water.org, the brand has launched a selection of limited edition bottle packs, available exclusively in the UK from February 1st in most major retailers. The bold new design features on the 3x, 4x, 6x, 12x 330ml packs and the 12x, 15x, 20x 284ml packs.

Each pack will provide six months of clean water for one person in the developing world. The design features a premium white wrap and water.org branding to reinforce the brand’s partnership and commitment to ending the global water crisis.

In addition to the exclusive bottle packs, consumers can also get involved and help end the global water crisis by purchasing new limited-edition Stella Artois Chalices direct from Amazon from February 1st.

This year’s Chalices feature unique designs by three influential artists – Lisa Mam from Cambodia, Fernando Chamerelli from Brazil and Eria Nsubuga from Uganda. Each design reflects the artist’s experience and artistic interpretation of the global water crisis in their country and represents one of the countries where Water.org provides support.

For every Chalice sold through Amazon, Stella Artois will help Water.org provide five years of clean water for one person in the developing world.

Since the launch of the “Buy a Lady a Drink” campaign (see www.BuyALadyADrink.com) two years ago, more than 225,000 limited-edition chalices have been sold and Stella Artois has helped provide more than 800,000 people in the developing world with access to five years of clean water.

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This summer, Mexican beer Corona is bringing its SunSets Festival to the UK with London’s first ever beach music festival.

Dutch melodic and deep house DJ and producer Bakermat, 2016’s Corona SunSets global ambassador, kicked off the UK Corona SunSets series with a summer launch party on June 30^th at Dalston Roof Park.

Corona SunSets is the AB-InBev-owned brand’s collection of festivals and events around the world. AB-InBev says in a statement that the program is “bringing to life the transformative moment of sunset through music and culture. Now in its third year, celebrations will continue throughout the year with close to 4,000 gatherings at some of the world’s best beaches, most iconic cities and awe-inspiring winter mountain tops.”

Corona SunSets is supposed to be the everyday manifestation of ‘This is Living’, the brand’s new global marketing campaign “that reminds people to go outside, enjoy life and live more moments that matter.”

Bakermat, who incorporates jazz and soul influences into his mixes, has created a signature sound exclusively for Corona, which supposedly embodies the spirit of a sunset moment. The exclusive anthem, “Games Continued,” was created by him in collaboration with Goldfish, and will be used for the sunset transition from day to night across the whole of the SunSets series.

Corona SunSets features eight flagship festivals and close to 4,000 events worldwide in locations including Ibiza, Canada and Australia. The experiences combine chilled acoustic beach tunes, upbeat melodic and deep house music with local beach and urban culture to immerse people in the experience of a sunset from day to night.

On July 30^th, the Corona SunSets Festival comes to London, with Greenwich Peninsula transformed into a beach paradise for thousands of music fans across the UK.

This festival will host world-class artists including Robin Schulz, Felix Jaehn, Crazy P Soundsystem, Norman Jay MBE and Nightmares on Wax who are confirmed as just some of the talents headlining across the two stages.

People will also be able to experience a transformation through an array of activities; including eclectic musical performances, sunset rituals and shows, beach games, local merchants selling handmade items, and golden sunset tattoo and body painting stations to initiate guests into the SunSets Tribe upon entry.

Andre Finamore, Marketing Manager Corona UK, says: “Corona is excited to be bringing Sunsets to London this year – transforming the Peninsula into a beach haven and igniting thousands of music fans across the country. We have enlisted a fantastic line up of world class artists and will be creating truly unique and transformational moments for festival goers, inspiring the country to get outside and live more moments that matter.”

For the remainder of the summer, Corona will also be hosting a series of sunset events at a number of well-known bars and clubs around the country, including: Red Gallery in London, Rainbow in Birmingham, Number 90 in London, Patterns in Brighton and Dalston Roof Park, finishing with an end of summer celebration at The Watering Hole in Cornwall in September.

More information on the Corona SunSets experiences is available at www.CoronaSunSets.com.

Corona is the leading beer brand in Mexico, the 6th most valuable beer brand in the world, and the most popular Mexican beer worldwide, with sales in more than 120 countries. Corona Extra was first brewed in 1925 at the Cervecería Modelo in Mexico City. Ten years after its launch, Corona became the best-selling beer in Mexico, and today continues to stand for Mexican pride around the world.

Last year, the Corona SunSets Stage featured at a number of UK festivals, including London’s LoveBox, Boardmasters in Cornwall and the BoomTown Festival

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Oculto, a Tequila-flavoured beer from Anheuser-Busch InBev in the US, ran a promotion in November and December 2015 where fans could scan their bottles, get connected to a special app and win prizes.

The limited edition bottle, which also featured an innovative label that lit up, was launched at a special event at the end of November.

The bottle features LED lights underneath its label. When consumers hold it in the right way, they activate a pressure-sensitive switch which turns on the LED lights, causing the eyes of the Mexican-style skull mask design on the label to glow.

Additionally, when drinkers scanned their bottles, they were connected to a web app called Relics of the Night, which let them interact with the brand digitally and potentially earn rewards and prizes by posting comments and photos to social media.

Oculto, a lager blended with beer aged over tequila barrel staves, launched in the US March 2015, targeting a young tech-savvy demographic. At launch, labels featured various hidden details including messaging that only appeared when the beer was cold.

Mallika Monteiro, senior director, Oculto at Anheuser-Busch, said at the launch of the limited edition bottle: “With the original Oculto packaging, we focused on creating a truly innovative bottle with a host of discoverable elements – everything from hidden messages on the back of the label to eyes that mysteriously appear when the bottle gets cold. Oculto’s unique positioning and social nature inspired both the illuminated bottle and the Relics of the Night digital activation to further highlight the personality and social nature of the beer.”

To create the illuminated bottle, Oculto partnered with Inland Packaging to leverage smart label technology featuring printed electronic pathways, paper batteries, micro switches and LED lights with a pressure sensitive label design.

The pressure switch is placed where the thumb naturally falls while holding a beer bottle, and once pressed the LED lights begin to shine through the eyes of the mask on the front of the bottle for about three to four seconds. The special edition bottle will be featured at select Oculto events in 2016.

The “Relics of the Night” geo-targeted web application was initially only available during November and December 2015 in the Miami area of Florida. Adults 21 and over attending selected events could participate by scanning the Oculto mask on their bottle, signage, or napkin, and uploading their image to Oculto.com/scan. Once uploaded, consumers were given a chance to “spin the bottle” and win prizes.

It is not know if AB InBev plans to use the same technology for future Oculto special promotions, or even to roll it out across some of its other brands.

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Budweiser has expanded its ‘Get Home Safe’ campaign for Christmas with a presence at nine UK university cities and campuses as part of its ongoing responsible drinking commitments.

By the end of Christmas, Budweiser will have distributed over 20,000 bottles of water with local taxi numbers printed on labels at universities, student nights and music events this year as part of the campaign.

Supporting its drinking commitments, Budweiser will be working with its Budweiser Promotional Team (BPTs) at nine UK universities to identify three monumental moments at each campus – from end of year formals to varsity matches – to hand out ‘Get Home Safe’ water bottles to revellers.

Budweiser representatives will also be on hand at 27 club nights – three at each university – to hand out water bottles and promote drinking responsibly this Christmas; armed with ‘swooper’ flags and branded sampling bins full of water bottles, Budweiser will distribute a total of 1,200 water bottles per university.

The activity comes after Budweiser distributed more than 10,000 ‘Get Home Safe’ water bottles at live gigs and pop-up events across the UK, embedding responsible drinking into its landmark music campaign, the Budweiser Live Project. An additional 1,500 bottles of water were also distributed on student campuses via a Budweiser Pedibus, supporting the music campaign.

Budweiser is also bringing back its Christmas jumper, the brand’s long-standing emblem for responsible drinking during the festive season, and will be featuring it across social media activity using the hashtag #BudWiseMen, helping to demonstrate all the perks that come with celebrating responsibly.

The Budweiser Christmas jumper will be a key element of the ‘Get Home Safe’ campaign, worn by staff and handed out to guests at key festive events at the nine chosen universities, helping to communicate Budweiser’s responsible drinking message in unexpected spaces. The jumpers will also be gifted to three chosen societies at each university, as selected by the BPTs. Over 800 Christmas jumpers will be given away in total.

Matt Leadbeater, Brand Manager for Budweiser UK, says: “Responsible drinking is important to Budweiser all year round; this Christmas we wanted to build on activity done throughout the year by working with these same universities to encourage students to drink responsibly as they enjoy our products this festive season. University venues, music events and club nights are great places for bringing people together for an experience often enjoyed alongside a cold beer. By partnering with these sorts of occasions, we want to reiterate the importance of responsible drinking when celebrating.”

Activity is planned at the following universities from November 23rd to December 18th:

• Glasgow;
• Edinburgh;
• Manchester;
• Leeds;
• Cardiff;
• Bristol;
• Brighton;
• Southampton;
• Birmingham.

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