CAA Marketing launched a new spot promoting Budweiser in China, starring actress Fish Liew and singer/actor Eason Chan. Chan also worked with DJ Alok on a song for the campaign.
A somewhat ambiguous dystopian sci-fi narrative with an impressive set, the spot finds Liew going through the monotonous motions of her daily routine when she imagines an EDM-fueled party and leaves her place in line (for work?). She stumbles upon a bar where Chan serves her a Budweiser and by the end of the spot she’s found her way to the real party.
It’s an ambitious approach, far more so than Budweiser’s attempts domestically, which lately seem to hinge on stoking patriotism (despite parent company A-B InBev being headquartered in Belgium).
In China, Budweiser isn’t quite the market leader it is stateside. CR Snow’s Snow Beer, which controlled over 23 percent market share last year, is the top beer brand in the country, according to Euromonitor International, while Budweiser accounts for around 3.6 percent, good for fifth place. Snow Beer overtook Tsingtao Brewery’s Tsingtao Beer as the number one beer brand in China several years ago.
Clearly Budweiser hopes CAA Marketing’s futuristic spot, complete with star power and EDM soundtrack, can help the brand continue to grow in the country.
“It’s a metaphor for people living in modern society in Shanghai, New York or Paris – people are doing their routine, living up to other people’s standards or expectations,” Matt Che, Budweiser’s North Asia-Pacific market vice president, explained to AdAge.
Interestingly the brand has been experimenting with utilizing EDM since before it became popular in the country.
“A brand shouldn’t always just see what consumers like,” Che said. “We should be taking them with us, beyond expectations.”
Credits:
Agency: CAA Marketing
Cast: Fish Liew, Eason Chan, Alok Petrillo
Kara:
Fish Liew
Co-worker: Olha Petrykkyiv
Co-worker: Talia Malovana
Co-worker: Wasuthond Chirawimuthrath
Production: Dapper TV
Executive Producer: David Lyons
Unit Production Manager: Kathy Tisler
1st Assistant Director: Pattra Kanjanamek
2nd Assistant Director: Panicha Pannasirichard
3rd Assistant Director: Phasakorn Mahakanok
Script Supervisor: Samavee Pummuang
Producer: Wicha Khokapun
Production Manager: Piyaporn Indageha
Coordinator: Pisanu Takasiyanan
Production Secretary: Nattaya Anuruk
Art Director: Sarayut Nimnate
Art Director Assistant: Saree Sicharoen
Art Team: Teerawat Singhadechachai
Art Team: Pongnarin Labkim
Art Team: Warawut Ruangkanokmas