Heineken’s Star Bottle Arrives Stateside with New Campaign

Heineken’s new taller, sleeker and starred bottle is already available in 170 countries and is now being rolled out in the United States with a new “Arrive Big” ad campaign featuring the brand’s “Man of the World” in such exotic locations as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Lagos, Nigeria and New York City. In each location, the protagonist finds himself in prickly situations at various clubs, yet somehow ends up with the girl and the beer (and an #arrivebig hashtag, to boot) in the end.

“Our priority is to ‘break the mold’ in beer marketing with cinematic, sophisticated ads that feature our ‘Man of the World,’ a progressive, cultured guy, who is inventive in any situation,” said Colin Westcott-Pitt, vice president of Heineken, in a press release. Heineken doesn’t go so far as to pull a New Coke move and break the mold inside the bottle, of course.Continue reading...

Victoria Bitter beer used to rule the roost in Australia, but that was before some marketing genius at Carlton & United Breweries decided to go all New Coke on the poor suspecting brewski drinkers Down Under and changed their beloved VB's recipe. It turned out, of course, to not be such a good idea. Why mess with success?

That was way back in 2007 and, since then, VB has, of course, fallen to second place in Australia behind Kirin Holdings Co.’s XXXX Gold, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. 

SABMiller acquired Carlton & United last year and now they are undoing the damage done, Businessweek reports. The old formula will be back in action starting in October and the alcohol content will go up from 4.6 percent to 4.9 percent from October this year.

To commemorate the event, SAB bought ads in Australia’s largest daily newspaper, the Herald Sun, that read, “We Got It Wrong.” Thanks for the newsflash, fellas.Continue reading...

The Australian Advertising Standards Board (an arm of the country's Advertising Standards Bureau) has ruled that Facebook is an advertising medium, and as such, company pages must comply with pertinent codes and laws, vetting all public posts to ensure they are not sexist, racist or factually inaccurate.

“In a move that could change the nature of the social networking site forever, companies could be fined or publicly shamed for the comments that appear on their Facebook ''brand'' pages,” writes the Sydney Morning Herald.

The case involved a complaint to the ASB about Smirnoff vodka's Australian Facebook page, “accused of violating standards with sexist, obscene Facebook content that also promoted underage drinking." The ruling is tantamount to, in the words of Web Pro News, “If you can’t say it on TV or the radio, Facebook users can’t say it on your brand page.”  

The ruling "rocked" Foster's and Smirnoff's parent company Diageo, according to Beverage Daily. Diageo reportedly “argued that Smirnoff's Facebook page is a networking tool for communication between company and customer rather than a medium for advertising.”Continue reading...

Foster's Group shareholders at a meeting in Melbourne today approved the A$11 billion takeover bid from British brewing giant SABMiller, which argued that it's a great price for investors — but not everyone was satisfied with the transaction, as Australia's ABC reports, above.

Accenture introduces global brand campaign.

Alamo trademark flap resolved in Texas.

Anna's Thins cookies adopt a new look.

Apple's iPad tested as voting device in Oregon, continues "App Store" fight with Amazon.

Best Buy ups holiday spending and introduces "Game On, Santa" campaign.

Boeing wins its biggest-ever commercial-jet deal even as mechanism for deal is criticized.

Cannes adds Mobile Lions award.

Coach pushes for China to become its No. 1 market within three years.

Deutsche Borse and NYSE seek to appease European Union.

Fiat introduces another TV commercial featuring Jennifer Lopez and its Gucci edition.Continue reading...

Apple could lure customers with pricing despite lack of iPhone 5, even as its new iPhone 4S fails to wow. AT&T, meanwhile, claims its iPhone 4S will be the fastest, while Samsung moves to ban the device in France and Italy.

Amazon Kindle Fire pre-orders top 2,000 per hour.

BNY Mellon gets sued by feds, state of New York.

Coca-Cola Amatil eyes Foster's assets in Australia.

Diageo to open "Happy Hour" on ESPN in two languages.

Disney gets 3-D fever.

Estee Lauder launches breast cancer awareness Facebook app.

Friendly's files for bankruptcy.Continue reading...

American Airlines woos Hispanic travelers with Spanish-language website.

Distilled Spirits Council releases social media guidelines for alcohol brand marketers.

Foster's takeover by SABMiller seen as good for the brand.

Goodrich may soon have a new owner in United Technologies.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt refutes charges the site 'cooks' search results, while site faces inquiry into Microsoft ad pricing.

Gucci celebrates 90th anniversary with "art deco meets Blade Runner" opening show at Milan Fashion Week.

HP board eyes new CEO.

Lindsay Lohan lands German brand endorsement deal.Continue reading...

British-based brewing company SABMiller has been avidly pursuing Foster's, including a bold move to snatch up Australian beer maker in August with a hostile takeover offer of $9.51 billion Australian ($9.68 billion US), but the Aussies didn’t go for it.

So the persistent SABMiller sweetened its proposal to A$9.9 billion, which was enough to finish things off and seal the deal for the Foster's board, according to Agence-France Presse.

Foster’s and its many beer brands can now be served up by company execs alongside SABMiller’s Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell, and Miller Genuine Draft.Continue reading...