Mother New York introduces Anheuser-Busch InBev’s new Oculto, a lager 6 percent ABV lager aged in tequila barrels, with a 30-second online spot.
The ad, directed by Prettybird’s Melina Matsoukas aims to give the beer an air of mystery. It opens on a masked woman turning around to place a mask on someone behind her, shot in first-person to give the impression that she’s placing it on the viewer. She opens a curtain to reveal a sort of strange costume party, where everyone holds up their Occulto for the camera to see. Text reading “Put on the mask” appears onscreen, followed by a long close-up of the beer and “Let the secrets begin.”
The new brand, which made its debut last month, will see further marketing efforts including print, social media and outdoor, with a focus on the Miami market. Harris Rabin, vice president of global marketing on new brands at A-B InBev, told Adweek the brand is targeting “21- to 34-year-olds who are ambitious, free-sprited and ‘love the idea of a mashup.'”
It’s interesting to note that while A-B InBev’s marketing for its flagship brand Budweiser continues to troll hipsters and mock microbreweries (even while A-B InBev buys as many of these breweries as it can get its hands on), its latest brand borrows from the craft beer trend of barrel aging.