- Stella Artois plays an adult game of “I Spy” with its latest ad campaign, depicting how people disguise the beverages they bring to a party for their own consumption later.
- The new effort, from Ogilvy, depicts refrigerators packed with food, drinks and other party goods that have been positioned to hide the real treat: the Stella Artois that is only barely visible. The campaign is themed, “Hiders Keepers.”
- The effort also includes a series of social videos, showing the hiding in action. In the videos, a fridge door opens, revealing a stocked appliance and a pair of hands stores the Stella Artois in a place where it won’t easily be discovered (such as in a vegetable drawer).
“The campaign is essentially bringing to life an idea that already existed,” said Samira Ansari, chief creative officer of Ogilvy New York, the agency that worked on the campaign. “Many people can relate to bringing something to a party that you’re excited to drink and only to find it gone later in the evening.”
The behavior is common enough that the print and out-of-home executions, which are currently running in the U.S., U.K. and Argentina, are placed without explanation, Ansari said. “It does take you a minute to find [the hidden Stella], but when you do find it, the logo is distinctive enough that you understand the campaign,” she said.
The campaign, the first from Ogilvy, is meant to build on the brand’s reputation as a premium product that is coveted by all, Ansari said. It is also timed to take advantage of the summer season, when more people are heading out to gatherings with friends and families. “It’s a good time to remind people to buy a Stella and a better time to remember to hide it,” Ansari said.
