-St. Patrick’s Day is nearly upon us. It will be the second one under quarantine, so Guinness is altering its message from parades to baking and paying tribute to frontline heroes.
The “#AToastTo” campaign and video ad encourages people to celebrate with the stout at home with family and to raise a toast to those on the front lines of the pandemic, as well as those displaced, especially pubs, bartenders and restaurant workers. The ad shows what the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Maryland has been doing over the last year, including baking and donating “Brewers Bread” to the Maryland Food Bank to help feed the community since last spring, as well as giving monetary donations.
In addition, Guinness is donating $600,000 to Team Rubicon and organizations fighting food scarcity across the country. Guinness fans are encouraged to raise a pint and share what they’re toasting to this year by using #AToastTo and tagging @GuinnessUS on social.
-French water bottle brand Evian has chosen Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam as its global creative agency of record. The first campaign from the agency is a two-parter, featuring Dua Lipa in one ad, and a message of purity and tradition in the other.
-Cadbury and agency VCCP have joined forces to hide Easter eggs virtually. Consumers are encouraged to “hide” eggs on a map and send clues to friends and family.
-Unilever, in a move towards a “broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty,” has decided to eliminate the word “normal” from its product packaging.
-After its acquisition of HuffPost weeks ago, BuzzFeed laid off dozens of employees at the online media company, including shutting down HuffPost Canada.
-Home retailer Lowe’s is celebrating its 100th anniversary with the launch of a new community support initiative: 100 Hometowns.
-Fast Company released its list of Most Innovative Companies, and in the advertising sector, agencies including Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Wieden+Kennedy, TBWA, Translation, Observatory, Maximum Effort, Highdive, Uncommon London, BBDO and You & Mr. Jones made the list.
-IPG agency Mediahub is addressing the need to diversify media investments with its inaugural Diversity-Owned Media Day.