A lot of brands are building pop-up shops, bars and other experiences in high-traffic places like New York City and Los Angeles, but one beer brand is sending adventurous types on an old-fashioned scavenger hunt deep inside a secret forest.
On July 20, Busch is hosting a “Pop Up Schop” in an undisclosed national forest that it hopes will help get people outside of the city and into the outdoors. While it’s hidden “deep in a national forest and miles away from civilization,” the brand plans to award a chance for free beer for life to anyone who can find it. (There will be some clues as to how to get there.)
“We wanted to take the concept of the traditional pop-up shop and flip it on its head in a very Busch way,” Daniel Blake, senior director of U.S. value brands at Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement. “Busch has the best fans out there who are always up for a little challenge, so we know they’ll be out in the forest finding our hidden ‘Schop.’ The chance to win beer for life also doesn’t hurt.”
In a YouTube video announcing the competition, a gray-bearded actor wearing a classic lumberjack flannel shirt speaks directly at the camera from the middle of the forest. In the video, which also includes cameo appearances by a pair of deer, the man says the competition will “even have a live stream” (a stream of water rather than content). There’s also “limited-edition” flannel gear.
“It seems everyone is doing a pop-up these days,” the man says. “So here at Busch, we thought it was time we opened up a pop-up shop the Busch way.”
The campaign was created by TBWA-owned Lucky Generals, which also created Amazon’s Super Bowl ads. Busch said the shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the mystery location’s local time zone.
The campaign is part of an ongoing partnership with the National Forest Foundation, with which Busch has already published a book about trees. The company said it will plant 100 trees in a national forest for every visitor who finds the pop-up, which will aid the NFF in its goal of planting 50 million new trees by 2023.
CREDITS:
Client – AB InBev
Product – Busch
Agency – Lucky Generals
Production Company – Lucky Generals
Director – Kelvin Hutchins
Post House – The Mill
Campaign Name – Busch Pop Up Schop
PR Agency – M&C Saatchi NYC
Post Production – The Mill & Lucky Studios
