I rather like the new advertisement for Victoria Bitter, which I saw on Thursday night for the first time on SBS during The Ashes coverage. It’s very funny in an understated, ironic kind of way.
The marketing pitch for The Regulars is to present VB as a drink for anyone, whereas previously it was promoted as a working man’s beer to quench a “hard-earned thirst”.
As liquor industry website The Shout explains, 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 (dags with sexy babes); Men who’ve had their arm in a cow; Guys who peaked in high school; Meat tray winners; Blokes who checked a sickie to be here; Manscapers; Guys who claim to have punched a shark; The Brewers and; The miniature bat signers, etc.
There are celebrity cameos from 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 commercial was filmed around Ballarat, involving about 1500 extras.
It’s good to see some quality advertising on television.
VB ads have always been pretty good. Watch and enjoy this one (below) from the 1970s.
Apart from the clothes and hairstyles, it’s fascinating to see people drinking from bottles, instead of cans or stubbies.
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As an ad bloke myself, the question I ask is: which ad makes you want to have a beer?
It’s not the new one.
But more specifically, which ad makes you want to buy a VB?
Again, it’s not the ad that has Molly Meldrum drinking the stuff.
There’s a classic marketing blunder in the statement from the CUB Marketing Director. (It’s amazing that anyone with a job like his would actually come out and say what he did.)
Quite simply, a product that is for everybody is really for nobody.
VB built it’s credibility on being the beer for real blokes, and it was that credibility the appealed to the rest of us softies.
If they’re now saying it’s the beer for everyone, where’s the differentiation in the marketplace? What makes you stand out?
VB is a good product and it has amazing brand strength built on ads like the old one (from a campaign that ran for over 20 years). So even though the advertising has been way, way off target for a few years now, it will go on being strong for a while yet.
But people should remember that Foster’s was once Victoria’s biggest beer. Then some bright spark decided it was too blue collar and, over a very short time, made the brand a local joke.
VB is heading in the same direction.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Some really good comments there Burt, thanks. I hadn’t thought of that and you’re possibly right. I never drink Fosters these days, don’t see it in the pubs and don’t know anyone who buys it!
I still like the new VB ad, but wonder now if it will sell more beer.
It’s an average everyday beer for average everyday blokes.
They are chasing the blue collar wage earner types.
Not for the professional yuppie types.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Will it work? I like the ad, but it doesn’t persuade me to buy VB.
I like Carlton Draught on tap and buy low-carb beers for home (Hahn Super Dry or Pure Blonde).
I’m not going to change.
terrible.
i was a mild VB drinker, and to me, burt is right. they’ve been dragging the bottom over the last few years with their ads. flailing around trying to appeal to a more metro drinker.
this is the final nail in the coffin. vb was never much of a beer, but you’d still throw a few back because of what it stood for. it was one of the few ‘hard men’ beers left on the market.
anything that tries to stand for everything, and even worse, includes michael clarke, shane watson and jules lund in the ad, becomes a joke.
they’d be better off using the retro ads and stop embarrassing themselves, but that doesn’t win any awards.