Despite strong sales, the Heineken brand had lost its way. As the world’s largest brewer, and a major sponsor for various platforms all around the world, including UEFA’s Champions League, Formula 1, MLS, The Rugby World Cup and multiple major concerts, the tone of our marketing communications was sometimes funny, sometimes fantastical, sometimes deeply emotional but always inconsistent. Additionally, our lofty “Open Your World” tagline was not resonating with our customers after 7 years of significant investment.

We had to take the brand back to what made us special in the first place.

Freddy Heineken used to say, “there’s always something fun happening around a Heineken.” In fact, the ‘e’ on the brandmark is called the “smiling e” for that very reason. Heineken brings fun and wit to the world. And that’s what we had to convey with our new global platform.

As the lead Account Director on the global brand repositioning, I worked closely with our Publicis Italy strategists and our Heineken global marketing leaders to re-establish our ‘Brand In A Bottle’ (our brand’s north star) and lay the groundwork for a new global platform that would delight our drinkers across the 192 countries our beer is served.

While we would forego a tagline in almost all of our communications globally, we would end our TVCs with ‘That’s Heineken’, sharing Heineken’s refreshing and optimistic point-of-view on life’s moments and all of the platforms that we help make happen.

PUBLICIS ITALY

Global Chief Creative Officer Publicis WW & CEO Publicis Italy: Bruno Bertelli

Executive Creative Director: Luca Cinquepalmi

Executive Creative Director: Marco Venturelli

Associate Creative Director: Fabrizio Tamagni

Associate Creative Director: Michela Talamona

International Strategic Planner: James Moore

Head TV Production: Mariella Maiorano

Producer: Viviana Biondolillo

Worldwide Account Director: David Pagnoni

Account Director: Tommy Cottam

Account Supervisor: Barbara Ruscio-Levi

International Account Manager: Derek Muller | Lischa Steiper

PRODUCTION

Production Company: Iconoclast

Director: MEGAFORCE