Leo Burnett Toronto won twice last night at the International Andy Awards for the James Ready beer campaign that invited consumers to pitch in on the Niagara Falls-based brewer’s OOH campaign. The campaign asked James Ready drinkers to post pictures at the brand’s website, which were then used on billboard ads under the premise that it would help save on advertising costs and keep the beer under a dollar. The website also provided instructions on how to create James Ready promotional materials like darts, hats and sunglasses, for those who wanted to support the cause. Some fans even used the ad space to promote their own events like parties and CDs, or list their used vehicles for sale.
The campaign took Gold in the Integrated Media and Out Of Home Beverage – Alcohol categories at the Andys, which take place annually in New York City, recognizing the best in advertising creative from around the world.
‘There was a lot of discussion about this work,’ says Mark Waites, joint creative director/founding partner of UK-based Mother London and chairman of the International Andy Awards. ‘[The jury] really responded to this as kind of a bread-and-butter brief. It wasn’t public service, it wasn’t an unusual product…it was a bid at no money to advertise. I think that really struck a chord with the jury members.’
Waites tells MiC the combined OOH poster and website was surprising, humorous and created a community and fan base around a beer. ‘People were knocked out with the whole strategy of ‘Let’s keep this beer under a buck,” he says.
