Newcastle’s #BandofBrands: of sequels and guerrilla advertising

Sequels are difficult to pull off. Ask the movie franchises. I am sure even the most die-hard of Die Hard fans would have been embarrassed to watch the fourth in the series. Save for a handful of films – Toy Story, Madagascar maybe) most of the movie sequels have failed to match the original. That’s the trouble with success. Ditto with advertising campaigns. The campaign for the second year of Vodafone Zoozoos would have invariably evoked a comparison to the first year’s campaign. During Super Bowl last year, Droga5 created this clever campaign for Newcastle where Anna Kendrick bemoaned the fact she was almost in a Super Bowl spot for but then found out the brand didn’t have the money or the rights. It worked at many levels: it mocked the silliness of big, deep-pocketed brands blowing millions of dollars for a 30-second spot on Super Bowl. It also positioned Newcastle (and the agency) as clever folks who made the best out of a tough situation and emerged winners. It imbues likability to both the advertiser and the agency.

This year Newcastle is creating buzz with the #BandofBrands initiative: “the most exciting, jam-packed, fiscally responsible game day ad ever”. A sequel better than the original in many ways.

Agency: Droga5

Loved ‘This is the United States of Winning’ and the deep, ‘profound’ voice with which it was delivered. It will be fun to see what the big brands (especially the usual suspect beer brands) actually do on Super Bowl.