From pitch to pint: Heineken campaign sets stakes on knee slides

Summer, beer, and sports are a natural trio needing no introduction. Heineken Vietnam, however, is trying to squeeze a bit more out of this connection with its latest campaign for Heineken Silver.

Developed with LePub Singapore and Leo Burnett Vietnam, 'Enjoy the Smoothness' links beer discounts to the length of the footballers' knee slides. 

It works like this: during live UEFA Champions League matches, every goal celebrated with a slick knee slide triggers real-time discounts on Heineken Silver, delivered instantly by Grab. The agencies have created a machine-learning model integrating data sets and visual data analysis to track these slides in real-time. The longer the slide, the bigger the discount. 

Anna Bizon, Heineken Vietnam's marketing director, raves about Bernardo Silva's "powerful and unstoppable shot" that resulted in a "beautiful 1.7-meter knee slide celebration", which equates to a 17% discount on Heineken Silver.

Meanwhile, Cyril Louis, global executive creative director at LePub Singapore, said, “In a country that’s crazy about football, we had the idea of making Heineken Silver’s smooth taste synonymous with the smoothest knee slide celebrations and let fans enjoy the match with a Heineken Silver in hand—it’s an unexpected way of showcasing unexpected smoothness.”

Heineken says the response to the campaign has been “phenomenal”—sales spiked in the first two weeks of its launch. Ad Nut is not doubting that, the fan craze and the adrenaline rush can be quite something. And who doesn't love a discount? 

But hold up, Ad Nut smells déjà vu.

Remember Puma’s Dive campaign in India which engaged iconic cricket dives with fans' everyday moments. Leo Burnett India also did it, too. Swap the sport, the country, rewards for discount, and you have Heineken's 'new' idea.

Cricketer Virat Kohli in a shot from the Puma Dive campaign

Ad Nut appreciates a good slide, but recycling concepts? Not quite as refreshing as a cold beer in the summer heat. 

CREDITS

HEINEKEN® GLOBAL
Head of Global Heineken® and Amstel Brands: Nabil Nasser
Heineken® Global Strategy and Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken® APAC Brand and Business Development Director: Agnieszka Gorecki 
Heineken® APAC Communication Manager: Nalini Bhagwandin
Heineken® Senior Global Sponsorship Manager: Thomas Mulders

HEINEKEN® Vietnam
Marketing Director: Anna Bizon
Head of Marketing, Premium Brands: Hoa Le
Senior Brand Manager: Vu Pham
E-Retail Logistics & Operations Lead: Hoang Ninh

LePub APAC
Regional Executive Creative Director: Cyril Louis
Creative Director: Yuste De Lucas
Creative Director: Rudy Zulkifly
Creative Director: Sergey Mast
Design Director: Oscar Gutierrez
Account Director: Vanessa Liu
General Manager: Hanh Kanssen
Senior Project Manager: Farhan Wahab
Account Manager: Chua Xin Ying

LePub
Global CEO LePub, CCO Publicis Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Business Director: Francesca Baldrighi

Leo Burnett Vietnam
Chief Creative Officer: Paolo Garcia
Creative Director: Bao Nguyen
Associate Creative Director: Raven Ngo
Senior Art Director: Trang Nguyen
Senior Copywriter: Tram Le
Copywriter: Chau Huynh
Multimedia Editor: Si Dang
Chief Executive Officer: Kate Bayona-Garcia
Groupe Business Director: Minh Nguyen
Account Director: Phung Vo
Head of Social: Raine Le
Senior Account Manager: Tracy Tran
Senior Account Executive: Van Anh Nguyen
 

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