Tired of Miller Time? Too busy to respond to life's beckon? Found other uses for your right arm?
Amsterdam Brewery's Boneshaker Unfiltered IPA knows you're suffering from slogan fatigue. (Probably you more than others, because you're probably in advertising.) So, to give you something a little less "miles away from ordinary," it enlisted ad agency Bensimon Byrne to create "Endless Slogans."
The ad does exactly what it promises (and when does that ever happen?). It's one seemingly endless minute of slogans, illustrated with aggrandizing visuals that ensure there's something for everybody. You'll find the sexual innuendo, the lame pun, the "just like you," the next-frontier tribute, the hip-hop nod, the elitist ode to balance, and the folksy-awkward rhyme. Among others.
In fact, just imagine that a super-derivative copywriter invaded your agency and threw up all over your shit, then refused to murder any of his or her darlings.
"Boneshaker is a craft brew that's an Indian Pale Ale. Their mascot is a skeleton who rides a bicycle. To say that the brand is irreverent is an understatement," says executive creative director Joseph Bonnici of Bensimon Byrne, the Toronto agency whose powers to persuade are probably best illustrated by the fact that they helped make this guy prime minister.
Bonnici adds: "'Endless Slogans' is the perfect approach for Boneshaker to take. It revels in making fun of a beer industry which takes itself too seriously, fawning over taste descriptors, and pour shots that are more like beer porn."
The ad is running in major urban areas of Canada and the entire Ontario province, where a 30-second spot is appearing on TV. But in addition to YouTube pre-rolls and Facebook sponsored ads (about as routine as you can get, barring a slogan like "This Bud's for you"), Bensimon Byrne also envisions an eventual Instagram campaign where people can take a shot of a street name, word or sign, then hashtag it #boneshaker to compell the brand to come up with even more taglines featuring that content.
The strategy, Bonnici says, is that "the beer drinkers of Canada help create the campaign." Think of it as a Lite version of Droga5 Sydney's last-ever execution.
"We are also running a contest to engage fans to come up with their own ridiculous slogans," Bonnici adds. "On Facebook, fans can submit a slogan and have a chance to win a year's supply of Boneshaker. We also have a landing page, asking people to submit on all platforms. The campaign lends itself to some pretty humorous social engagement."
He isn't wrong, but people might be participating for less fawning reasons than a love of beer. A quick glance at the brand's Facebook page shows users are getting a particular kick out of wielding the word "bone," which—handily—is also slang for sex:
Yum, indeed.
But to return to that image of the Mad Men reject vomming his best verbal contortions all over your whiteboard, Bonnici confirms what's probably already obvious: If you can't get on Old Spice, this campaign is a knife-shy copywriter's wet dream.
"'Endless Slogans' has endless possibilities," Bonnici says. "Currently we have hundreds of slogans written for Boneshaker. We intend to use every single one of them in every channel."
So, to the beer porn-averse, what are you waiting for? Get boning.
CREDITS
Client: Amsterdam Brewery
Brand: Boneshaker
Title: "Endless Slogans"
Creative Agency: Bensimon Byrne, Toronto
Executive Creative Director: Joseph Bonnici
Creative Director: Dan Strasser
Associate CD/Copywriter: Dave Mueller
Associate CD/Art Director: Gints Bruveris
Art Director: Jonathan Crandell
Group Account Director: Zeeshan Hussain
Program Director: Patricia Tay
Director of Production: Michelle Pilling
Producer: Meghan Cheesbrough
Director: Dan Kelly
Production House: Creative Soul
Post-Production: The Faculty
Audio: Grayson Matthews