For a long time now I have entertained the idea that I'm fairly immune to advertising. Rarely if ever will I buy a product because of an advertisement I've seen. And because I'm not really the person who is easily swayed to buy a product because of an advertisement I tend to "switch off" during the ad breaks on television or during the advertising segment before catching a movie at the cinema. But every now and again the advertising profession comes up with something that catches my attention. Some advertisements manage to rise above the drudgery of the rest and display a certain creative flair. Stella Artois is far from my favourite beer -- a distinctly average lager that is marketed outside of its homeland as a "premium" international lager at a correspondingly "premium" price. And yet, they come up with some great ads like these.
For some time now, Stella Artois has been adopting a classic European cinema motif for its advertising (these ones hark back to the 1960s; for one reminiscent of an earlier era see here). I'm very much a fan of 1960s European -- especially French -- cinema (a young Brigitte Bardot strutting about carefree on the French Riviera: oh la la!) and seeing these creative efforts by Stella Artois' advertising agency on the big screen at the cinema is a sight to behold. They have recreated the feel of the films of this era so wonderfully.
Of course, not everyone will "get" this kind of ad. I imagine that it would be wasted on a lot of beer drinkers, yea even Stella drinkers. When I think of most of the fellows I grew up with or those with whom I would sometimes go to the pub after work, I suspect that most of them have probably never seen a French film in their lives and would not be the slightest bit interested in seeing one. So while I don't think the beer's anything special (it's not bad, but it's not that great either; just average) and I wonder whether these ads will have the effect of getting people who otherwise wouldn't drink Stella to drink it, I am greatly appreciative of these ads' creativity and artistry. I might even just break my own rules once and buy a Stella as a way of saying thank you for rising above the drudgery of most advertising and putting a smile on my face with these gems.
For some time now, Stella Artois has been adopting a classic European cinema motif for its advertising (these ones hark back to the 1960s; for one reminiscent of an earlier era see here). I'm very much a fan of 1960s European -- especially French -- cinema (a young Brigitte Bardot strutting about carefree on the French Riviera: oh la la!) and seeing these creative efforts by Stella Artois' advertising agency on the big screen at the cinema is a sight to behold. They have recreated the feel of the films of this era so wonderfully.
Of course, not everyone will "get" this kind of ad. I imagine that it would be wasted on a lot of beer drinkers, yea even Stella drinkers. When I think of most of the fellows I grew up with or those with whom I would sometimes go to the pub after work, I suspect that most of them have probably never seen a French film in their lives and would not be the slightest bit interested in seeing one. So while I don't think the beer's anything special (it's not bad, but it's not that great either; just average) and I wonder whether these ads will have the effect of getting people who otherwise wouldn't drink Stella to drink it, I am greatly appreciative of these ads' creativity and artistry. I might even just break my own rules once and buy a Stella as a way of saying thank you for rising above the drudgery of most advertising and putting a smile on my face with these gems.
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