Beer ads: no more laughing matter

Germany | What can brewers do in times of “social distancing” when their bog-standard commercials and ads show people sharing a beer? Well, pull them.

In order not to appear insensitive and in defiance of orders during the covid-19 pandemic, US brewer Molson Coors has yanked a Miller Lite commercial that encourages friends to get together and enjoy the beer in what it called “the original social media”. This was reported by the website fool.com on 30 March 2020.

The add, titled “Hahaha” and first aired in January, suggests it is better to get together with friends for a laugh than simply texting them.

Saying cheers from a distance

Rather than pulling ads, the German brewer Gaffel from Cologne in March launched a 26 seconds social media video, which shows two people sequestered in their flats, who say cheers to a Gaffel Kölsch, while standing on their respective balconies – hence several metres apart, which is in compliance with what the doctors have recommended.

The tagline translates as: “The best Kölsch, by a long way.”