Stella Artois (table) drops a brand ‘refresh’

Who: Stella Artois, with Anomaly Toronto for creative and strategy; Scouts Honour for production (directed by Mark Ziebert); Nimiopere Editorial, A52, and Alter Ego for post-production; Rajakovic Electric for audio..

What: “Table Drop,” a new spot that’s part of a larger “brand refresh” positioning the beer as a catalyst for meaningful human connections around shared meals. It builds upon the existing platform, “Make Time For the Life Artois.”

When & Where: The campaign is launching in the U.S before coming to Canada in the summer. Creative includes a 60-second anchor spot and various cutdowns, supported by influencer outreach and promotional activations with Yelp, Instacart and Uber Eats.

Why: The underlying insight for the campaign is that eating and dining habits (including beer consumption) have been changed by the pandemic. That shift that was directly addressed, though in a different way, in a 2022 spot about working from home and making time to relax, disconnect and enjoy a Stella.

“For ages, dinner served as a time for gathering and connection, and now we have grown accustomed to eating alone. In a world where we strive for connection, Stella Artois’ role as a brand to authentically bring people together over dinner is more relevant than ever,” said Marcela Garcia, vice-president of marketing for Stella Artois.

Stella is calling this its “biggest and more fully integrated” campaign in five years. “Throughout the course of the year, we’ll leverage the power of Stella Artois to create meaningful connections over dinner and around casual meals to become a mealtime staple.”

How: The campaign is anchored by a 60-second spot that begins with one woman eating dinner alone. Through the magic of Stella, her dinner for one soon becomes a dinner for many, as tables smash through floors and walls and pick up new guests along the way.

According to Stella, the new spot “exemplifies how unplanned and unexpected moments can lead to fun and meaningful connections thanks to Stella Artois.” Aside from the video ad, the beer brand is also working with Yelp, Instacart and Uber Eats with incentives to make group reservations for a dinner out, or to connect with consumers buying groceries for a meal in.

A more diverse Stella: In a making of video (see it below), Garcia also talks about the brand’s intent to be “diverse, vibrant and energetic,” and show people coming together around the table and enjoying Stella Artois in “a very modern and hip way. Having Mark (Ziebert) and Anomaly working together to really make the brand more diverse is extremely important,” she said.

David Brown