Quidi Vidi Brewing Company–Newfoundland’s first craft brewery–was introducing their first product:1892 Traditional Ale, into a beer market dominated by Labatt and Molson.
CHALLENGE
How do you make a new beer stand out amongst generations of beer drinkers who were already loyal to major brands?
SOLUTION
As the ale was inspired by a recipe that survived the 1892 Great Fire of St. John’s, we decided to appeal to a history Newfoundlanders knew and cared about.
While enlarging an archival black and white photograph from the beer label, we noticed something intriguing: the men standing on the pier were all looking toward an empty space in the foreground.
That sparked an idea to place a bottle of the new ale where their gaze led.
Inspired by the juxtaposition of the past and present, we built the campaign around a simple invitation to: Taste the Past.
RESULT
The intriguing campaign appeared in bars and stores across Newfoundland, and helped establish Quidi Vidi as a distinctive new presence in a market dominated by much larger brands.
We made a new beer part of Newfoundland’s history.