The advertising campaign “Saying NO makes us what we are” has received a silver EFFIE 2013

The Budweiser Budvar brand advertising campaign called “Saying NO makes us what we are” received yet another prestigious award from the professional public. Following the award of a Grand Prix in the reputable competition of advertising creativity “Louskáček” last spring, the “NO” campaign also got silver EFFIE in the competition for the most efficient advertising campaign of 2013 in the “Beverages” category. The key and publicly probably best known part of the campaign was a TV commercial with Jan Tříska. Nonetheless, the “NO” campaign was much vaster, consisting of an image part and a product part. The media used in the campaign were TV, cinemas, press and POS items. Online activities were also an integral part of the campaign, e.g. NO Gallery or the satiric website “EuroB”, giving a view of what would happen should the brewery start saying YES. Furthermore, special-deal multipacks of Budweiser Budvar Premium Lager completed the campaign at the selling points. The campaign was created by Kaspen/Jung von Matt advertising agency.

“The Effie award brings satisfaction at the courage and reward for the renunciation of all involved in the campaign, since a campaign is not “only” communication; it is a commitment and a standard of our conduct. We see the biggest success in having managed to convince our sales department, which had been worried at first about a too “highbrow theme” of the campaign. Luckily, the theme proved to echo within the whole society and both the brand and the product turned out to be credible, with the consumers recognising the importance of respecting long-term values as well as our stubbornness as the producer. We appreciate this Effie a lot, since the campaign’s impact on the thinking of consumers and their willingness to choose Budweiser Budvar over other brands is of key importance,” says Budweiser Budvar’s marketing department manager Jana Kubištová.

Budweiser Budvar brand’s four pivotal “NOs”
Since its founding, Budějovický Budvar Brewery has continued in the famous tradition of brewing Budějovice beer, which was designated in accordance with the place of its origin simply as “Budweiser Bier” already in the Middle Ages. The brewery has been trying to maintain the uniqueness of Budějovice beer as well as its traditional brewing procedure and hand this fortune over to the next generations. A particular example of these efforts can be seen in the Budweiser Budvar brand, which ranks amongst the best-known Czech products in the world these days, being exported to nearly 60 countries and participating in Czech beer export by a fifth. Budweiser Budvar brand’s success lies in four uncompromising NOs, which have virtually been related to the brand since the brewery’s founding in 1895:

1.    NO to replacing the original ingredients: Owing to our unambiguous NO to substitutes, Budweiser Budvar beer has been one of the few Czech beers using the same ingredients as at the time of founding the brewery. Only then can its quality and irreplaceable flavour be maintained.
2.    NO to reducing the 90-day maturing period: Due to our adamant NO to accelerating the production, Budweiser Budvar Premium Lager has been the only Czech beer that matures in lager cellars for a unique 90 days. Only then can its pure, well-balanced and full flavour be accomplished.
3.    NO to moving the production away from České Budějovice: Thanks to our strong NO to licensed production, Budweiser Budvar has been the only Czech beer famous worldwide that is brewed at only one location in the world. Only then it can maintain its uniqueness.    
4.    NO to selling our own name: As a result of our resolute NO to selling trademarks Budweiser Budvar has established itself as a courageous battler fearless to defy a much stronger opponent. Only then its good name can be preserved for future generations as well.

Further information on the “NO” campaign
The Budweiser Budvar brand aims to support those who are not going to swerve and give in on account of their inner beliefs, being able to say NO. After all, the brand itself has been saying four clear NOs for all its 117-year history: NO to replacing the original ingredients, NO to moving the production away from České Budějovice, NO to reducing the 90-day maturing period and NO to selling our own name.

At the first stage of the campaign, the outdoor boards and POS materials presented Budweiser Budvar brand’s categorical NOs. The visual design consisted of 4 knights who always protect whatever is part of that particular NO. The society-wide significance of the whole idea was subsequently demonstrated in the second stage of the campaign. Two TV commercials presented lives of those who had said NO in their lives, having thus become an inspiration for others.

Lukáš Pollert said NO to the wheels of professional sport and sold all his medals, the actor Jan Tříska refused to be in the service of the totalitarian system and emigrated to the USA. The TV commercials originated in cooperation with and following several consultations with Mr. Pollert and Mr. Tříska, directed by André Stringer of Boogie Films.

The campaign was completed by online activities. The fictitious EuroB beer website presented with hyperbole what would happen if the brewery withdrew from its NOs and started saying YES. At the same time, Budweiser Budvar launched a long-term project called NO Gallery, which has been creating a gallery of personalities who said or have said an important NO in their lives, thus affecting not only themselves but their surroundings as well. The NO Gallery is originating under an independent supervision of two journalists Pavel Eichler and Jan Hanzlík. Both Budweiser Budvar and its advertising agency gave up its control over the choice of personalities and the form of depicting their stories.

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