Stella Artois Makes People Wait for Water in Extension of Water.Org Super Bowl Effort

AB InBev’s Stella Artois was early out of the gate releasing its full Super Bowl ad from Mother, which starred Matt Damon and highlighted the brand’s Water.org partnership.

Now the brand is rolling out a digital campaign created in collaboration with Water.org and VaynerMedia that features Water.org co-founder Damon elaborating on the message for Stella Artois and the charitable organization. It centers around a video taken from a stunt which sees patrons at restaurants and a hotel told that they’re out of water. Hidden cameras capture their bewildered reactions as they learn they will have to wait up to six hours for a glass of water or a shower. Damon then appears on a disguised screen to deliver a message about the global water crisis.

The intent of the stunt was to put the water crisis into perspective for people who take the availability of the resource for granted.

“We’ve learned this issue is hard for many people to relate to because clean, accessible water is a constant presence in their lives,” Damon said in a statement. “Yet for millions around the world, this isn’t the case. Our challenge is to help create that understanding.”

“Announcing that we’re using the Super Bowl to raise awareness for the global water crisis has already put this issue on a major stage,” Stella Artois vice president Harry Lewis said in a statement. “Now with the release of ‘The Wait for Water’ we are putting the global water crisis into fresh perspective to further inspire those who can help make an impact to take action this year.”

“The Wait For Water” will run on Stella Artois’ YouTube channel, as well as paid buys on Facebook and Twitter. Celebrities, including John Legend, Vanessa Hudgens, Marcus Samuelsson and Pepper Teigen, and social influencers will help promote the campaign on social channels. A further social media activation, “Tweet to Support,” featuring custom content from Damon, will launch the day after the Super Bowl and run through Feb. 9.