Stella Artois ads make you think

This summer, Stella Artois been running a campaign in magazines, newspapers and outdoor, supporting their "Live Film" initiative. The ads are like a "Where's Waldo" of film trivia. All portray typically English scenes that have been invaded by characters, props and scenarios from classic films. Each of the three ads contains approximately 20 films.

The campaign aims to entice drinkers with prizes including DVDs and a holiday in San Francisco.

Ed Morris, executive creative director of Lowe, the agency which created the adverts, said: "A promotion is quite a hard sell, so we wanted to aim for something big. We started out with one film reference - Superman in a phone box. Then the idea took shape and went to a grander scale. The next stage was: "What if we put 20 film references in one landscape?"

"There are some we knew ourselves and some we researched, so that people would immediately recognise some and be drawn in by others which are more subtle. So in the park you're likely to spot The Birds but the falling plane engine is more tricky."

St. Albans Market Place was chosen "because it, along with the rest of the city, has featured in so many films and television productions," a spokesperson for Stella Artois said.

Not only has there been chatter around the web trying to solve these ads, but The Belfast Telegraphalso reports "advertising executives at Stella Artois have been fielding calls from moviegoers and motorists trying to connect the iconic cars with legendary movies in their recent billboard campaign".

Spokesperson for Bass Ireland, who have Stella Artois in their stable of drinks, Brian Houston, described the lager's first outdoor campaign as a "thinking man's ad" which has "stirred up so much interest it's unbelievable".

"We think it's a very appropriate campaign as it's building on Stella's associations with film and cinema and we've been taking dozens and dozens of calls with people wanting to know what it's about."

This isn't the first time Stella has been connected to films either. They started partnering up with celluloid back in 1995. For more on the history check out Brand Channel's write up.

For the curious, solutions to the ads are here: Park, Town, and Beach.

Creative Credits:
Client: Interbrew UK
Creative agency: Lowe London
Creative Director: Ed Morris
Copywriter: Diccon Driver
Art director: Alan Wilson
Planner: Jennifer Wirth
Media agency: Starcom Motive
Photographer: Andy Glass
Typography: Dave Wakefield