Pure Blonde delivers a ‘River of Blonde’ brand new campaign via Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne
Pure Blonde, via Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, has today released its latest TVC, ‘River of Blonde’ – capturing a pure moment and continuing Pure Blonde’s philosophy to deliver the unexpected to Australians.
The 60 second spot launches online today; will premiere on TV screens this Sunday 24 March and in cinemas next Thursday 28 March.
The TVC uses James Vincent McMorrow’s mesmerising cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” as the track for the cinematic movement of people who create a memorable, purely absorbing moment. Opening on an eerily quiet street, a stream of blondes appear seemingly from nowhere to become part of a growing, unstoppable energy that forms a river of blonde pouring through the city. Then almost as soon as they arrive, they are gone. Viewers are again left with the echo of an empty city and the memory of an inspiring and unexpected moment of beauty, a Pure Blonde moment.
Past campaigns have established the Pure Blonde story; it is brewed in a pure way and has origins in a ‘pure place’. This latest campaign for Pure Blonde, according to Ant Keogh, executive creative director, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, takes ‘Pure’ into a completely new space for the brand, and for the Australian beer category.
Says Keogh: “Research suggested Pure Blonde owned the iconography of blondes from earlier ads so the task was to take this imagery into a more premium space.”
A significant social media component will support the TVC release; Pure Blonde drinkers will be invited to share photos on Facebook that represent their “Pure Blonde” moments. With more than 217,000 Facebook fans and growing, Pure Blonde has the biggest social media presence of any Australian beer. The promotion launches on Facebook and the Pure Blonde website today and the standout images will be selected to help advertise the activity during the campaign, culminating in a crowd sourced video montage using the campaign’s best images.
Says Andy Meldrum, general marketing manager for Pure Blonde: “From the outset, the Pure Blonde team felt there was a better approach to making beer which is why today we are committed to delivering a beer to Australians that contains nothing artificial. This year, we wanted to bring to screens that same sense of purity – a fleeting moment in time when things just come together.
“We kept coming back to that feeling when you are able to let go of everything else around you; with the pace of life getting faster and faster anything that makes you stop, think and feel… That’s a Pure Blonde moment.”
A 30 second spot will also air in support across free to air and subscription TV programming; digital and out-of-home support will launch nationally from 25 March. The out-of-home advertising and Pure Blonde packaging will include QR codes that link consumers to a ‘Making of River of Blonde’ video showing exclusive behind the scenes production footage.
Pure Blonde
Chief Marketing Officer – Andy Gibson
General Marketing Manager – Andy Meldrum
Marketing Manager – Alastair McCausland
Senior Brand Manager – Beau Boundy
Assistant Brand Manager – Amy Kearney
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne (Lead creative agency)
Executive Creative Director – Ant Keogh
Creative Director Writer – Julian Schreiber
Creative Director Art Director – Tom Martin
Executive Producer Agency – Sonia von Bibra
Executive Planning Director – Paul Rees-Jones
Managing Partner – Paul McMillan
Senior Account Director – Peter Chapman and Brett Williams
Production Company – Revolver
Director – Steve Rogers
Producer – Pip Smart
Executive Producer – Michael Ritchie
Post Production Online / CGI – Animal Logic
Online / CGI Team – Kirsty Millar/Jonathan Hairman/Manuel Macha/Rogier Fransen/Sarah Hiddlestone
Music Supervisor – Level Two Music – Karl Richter
Song – “Higher Love”, performer – James Vincent McMorrow, Writers – Will Jennings / Steve Winwood
The Conscience Organisation (Digital agency)
Clive Burcham – Executive Producer
Tom Phillips – Managing Partner
Danny Robson – Planner
Jackson Mullane – Director
Alex Weetch – Digital Strategist
Justin Ridler – Photographer
Media Company – MediaCom
PR – Liquid Ideas
79 Comments
sorry, but post is shocking
Again.
Great track but that’s where it ends. What were they thinking? This is what money going down the drain looks like.
Love the two birds flying over at 00:55.
Not very funny is it?
*Yawn*
Big Ad and Schweppes Burst’s hideously deformed love child.
I’m no expert, but the post looks lazy, especially in the corners. They crowd is really compressed – looks like my photoshop cloning skills.
A pure blonde moment of schweppervessence.
Shitful.
Mr Plough.
Like how it started. Sound track great. Imagery great. Thought it was building to something bigger. But then nothing.
The worst Pure Blonde ad on record. And no doubt seven figure production cost.
No wonder Hahn Superdry is now a bigger brand.
Notch up a cross for SAB and new mareting team that were quick to call out how week the previous team was.
Gladiator had better crowd sfx, and that was made 13 years ago.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the whole ‘large number of people rushing down the street for no particular reason’ idea is just as old.
I’m with Pure Shite. It’s a beer guys. You’re selling B E E R. As a beer drinker – and not loyal to any particular brand, because there’s so many god damn tasty beverages out there – Pure Blonde seems to be caught up in some sort of self belief of ‘purity’ which no one gives a toss about. Completely lost the plot guys. Love to hear about the increase in sales figures from this doozy. At least Boag’s ‘Pure’ Waters campaign is grounded in a product truth I can buy into.
Better than the new Hahn Pioneering Beering that looks like a Brand Power spot.
sorry it’s a no.
One must be constructive, even when being critical… so here goes.
It’s an ad that will definitely cut through in an ad break.
It’s definitely a brave leap of faith by the client.
But…
There’s no point getting consumers’ attention if you’re going to serve them up a severely disappointing ad.
And in this case, being brave didn’t pay off. It was the wrong gamble for the client to take.
I’m a big fan of Clem’s work… this is the worst ad to come from there in a mighty long time.
How did this idea got past the first internal review has got me stumped.
Even clems melbourne have an off day, I feel better now.
River of Shite
This will work fine on TV, stand out from everything else. Just one of those ads that washes over you. I think it will work.
In a future–past distopian world, a post-war Aryan invades an Eastern European city– dances around a bit – then gets on the subway ? what the????
Looks like a white rights, impending apocalypse, contemporary dance version of Toohey’s Nocturnal Migration.
May have been a great idea on paper, but not in practice.
what was that, i don’t understand, was there a beer in there, what’s a QR?
might just stick to the VB’s thanks.
What’s missing is a product demonstration. If they were all nude we’d know for sure they were pure blondes.
Better luck next time Clems.
Why is this bad?
Looks like the creative had a blonde moment themselves? ??
good comment on youtube post – purity = only white people???
This ad reminds me of a former boss of mine who was only concerned about ‘cut through’. Agree totally with Melbourne creative – cut through is pointless without some pay off. This doesn’t have a pay off at all. Purity message is lost badly vs old stuff. 4/10.
Why is this bad?
Children of the Corn all grown up.
@Depressed. Fucking classic. Take the rest of the day off.
I feel like lighting a candle and running a bath.
I love it!!!!
Thanks for reminding me to listen to Steve Winwood. And drink Hahn Super Dry.
So many blondes……….I just want to know if the collars and cuffs all match or whether the ‘natural’ beer is driven by artificial colour.
I guess Pure Blonde’s not for me.
OK, now do Tooheys Red next.
Surely this is a fake teaser for some other campaign?
Maybe the creatives were having a blonde moment.
Just a random thought, and it worked when there were just a few beautiful boys and girls in those utopian settings with the beer truck, but a river of opaque white may not be the metaphor that serves beer best.
Good to the last drop though.
Now if the liquid movement of the people eventually morphed into a deliciously appetising river of Pure Blonde beer cascading spectacularly in slo-mo from a bottle of Pure Blonde, you might have something.
Clem’s shit does stink after all.
Good to see tall poppy trolling is alive and well.
Good old fashioned ethnic cleansing
@Perspective
You could be flat on the ground and lop off this poppy. Tall it ain’t.
Tall poppy?
Sorry, I just don’t understand it. Is it supposed to be funny? Or just expensive wallpaper?
We are in the communications business after all, and if people don’t understand your ad… and they work in advertising… you can hardly call that tall poppy.
Poppycock would be a better term.
Isn’t this the ad that the same group of people parodied a few years ago for Carlton Draught?
Very aryan. Would be great if the Nazis had won.
It’s like the old Draught ‘Big’ ad but with all the fun, life and creativity bleached out of it.
Which to be fair is what the beer tastes like.
flat
A classic example of the brand owner and agency believing their own BS…
Agree with all of the above.
So they all go underground where they are eaten by Morlocks?
I like the white people in it but please explain!
Gospel song for a beer ad?
Dear SAB,
Pure Blonde used to be a good drop with a great and simple brand message. The original ad was on breif and is still the best.
PB is an Australian beer and is only sold in the Aus market (make it look like it is filmed here).
Best you remake this ad with the refund you get form the agency and try your hardest to get beer back in the hands of the consumer.
All other categories are in growth unlike beer and this ad, disappearing down into the subway.
SAB marketing scorecard; context is that beer needs to be marketed to the consumer.
PB; please read comments = fail (consumers will agree)
Carlton Draught; filmed in US, poor consumer feedback = fail
VB; great hope and back on message until 2 of the 4 ads were deemed unfit for TV and against the industry code = fail
SAB management need to step in!
FYI; SAB Marketing Director = Position Vacant
has any other ad been universally panned like this?
The curtain is going down at Clems.
How many more self indulgent flops can they sustain?
Past glories can only keep them afloat for so long.
You cant even blame the client for wrecking the edit. The only thing the client can cop the blame for is approving the idea in the first place.
How can an agency that produces that Carlton Draught cracker and the back-to-authenticity VB work pull out something like this!?
Time for a reshuffle at Clems.
gross
Maybe, just maybe this was born of some kind of uninspired strategy that tries to link PB to it’s Carlton Draught stablemate – ie make this come across as the “premium” version of the big ad. Maybe folks over at Carlton/Clems were getting all sentimental, but it only makes it come across as a softer, shittier, and fun-free aryan beer.
Looks like the marketing team didnt buy as many views as they did for Carlton Draught.
The team has lost its way. Anyone see the latest market read of VB sales? The PR machine is very quiet now.
So that’s what’s in Room 101.
For a hundred million reasons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bizJWtJ0xXo&list=PL230D211A79F3754E
For a hundred million reasons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bizJWtJ0xXo&list=PL230D211A79F3754E
Please, I command you to halt your murmur and prostrate before me with your apologies.
JM
I was waiting for Rhonda to emerge from the street parade.
My favourite part is where the blonde people are walking down the street…
Says Keogh: “Research suggested Pure Blonde owned the iconography of blondes from earlier ads so the task was to take this imagery into a more premium space.”
Does Keogh really speak this way?
Feels like a typical European agency beer ad. Metaphors galore, huge budget, agency ego and a director with grandiose visions of being the next Ridley Scott. What would you expect from a beer ad??? Oh, hold on…. This is an Australian beer ad. You guys want blokes in singlets, with mates, cold beer, the hot barmaid/ girlfriend, touch of predictable humour and presto! Ad of the f@cking year.
The KKK endorses this ad. Pure blonde will be our official beer for our member meetings from this day forward.
@Blackguy Guess it’s not for me either.
OMG just rid this tripe…who wrote this the ad agency… Someone is certainly having a lend of themselves!
Sorry, but I saw this ad on TV last night and was stunned to be honest. A swarm of blonde Euro’s marching down a cobbled-European street… I know everyone was offended by G’s Nazi comment, but I immediately thought of the Hitler Youth… immediately!
Whoever came up with and signed-off on this concept may be poorly educated in modern history, culturally insensitive, a white supremacist or a combination of all three.
I’d just like to know, in which city was it shot in ?
Budapest , Hungary …………. ?
The ad was filmed in Lodz, poland. And you can tell by the women that most of them were polish.
The ad was shot in Budapest, Hungary. The stairs they all disappear into at the end are at the Vorosmarty Utca Foldalatti Megallo. Look it up.
I love the location, where was it filmed?
My vision is complete!