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Stella Artois distributes custom glassware to bars to make pours of the Belgian pilsner more distinctive, but thousands of those chalices go missing every year. Rather than fighting the thefts, the AB InBev brand celebrates them in a playful campaign by agency David New York.
“Missing Chalices” shows the branded glassware tucked into a kitchen cabinet, drying on a dish rack and finding a place at a dining room table—a journey that started with it being hidden in a jacket pocket. The thefts are dubbed “unacceptable, yet understandable.”
The campaign also incorporates print ads showing the chalices in their new homes with the same tagline. Three radio spots taking inspiration from heist movies follow people crafting elaborate plans to steal the glasses that involve research on bar shift changes, getaway drivers and diversions.
The work builds on January’s “Steal Artois” campaign, where David and VML Chile created a capsule collection designed to make swiping glassware easier, including pants and jackets with hidden pockets and a bucket hat that converts into a purse. That campaign’s success led Stella Artois to look for new ways to explore the insight.
“Missing Chalices” also fits into the “Worth More” slogan Stella Artois introduced last month, which turned the beer’s higher price into an asset that demonstrates its premium quality as the brand aims to make an emotional connection with customers.
“Stella Artois is positioning itself around the concept of worth: For the brand, some things are ‘worth more,’ and this includes the chalice,” David New York chief creative officer André Toledo told ADWEEK. “If you can’t fight a consumer behavior that’s so connected to your brand motto, you just embrace it to create awareness and relatability.”
CREDITS
Agency: David New York
Campaign: Missing Chalices
Client: Stella Artois
Global CCO and partner: Pancho Cassis
Global chief operating officer: Sylvia Panico
CCO: André Toledo
Creative directors: Linus Oura, Sébastien Rouvière
Associate creative director: Guilherme Pinheiro
Managing director: Luiza Prata Carvalho
Account director: Mandy Boddy
Head of production: Brenda Morrison Fell
Senior producer: Este Najera
Associate producer: Sophie Fried
Business affairs director: Barbara Karalis
Business affairs manager: Catalina Pena
Global public relations director: Sandra Azedo
Client: AB InBev (Stella Artois)
Global vice president, premium: Richard Oppy
Global vp, Stella Artois: Tim Ovadia
Global marketing director: Andre Amaral
Premium brands manager: Camila Plass
Marketing director: Lina Maria Aguirre
Marketing brand manager: Diego Soffia
Production company: Santeria
Director: Rafa Damy
Creative director: Felipe Luchi
Head of production: Paty Silveira
Line producer: Vitor L. Meyer
Producer: Hellen Gazetta
First assistant director: Cauê da Silva Pereira
Pickle Music
Executive creative director: Alexis Estiz
Managing director: James Zavaleta
Producer: Matt Kerr
Associate producer: Carolina Lage
Composer/engineer: Dario Calequi
