Our approach to media was completely different from classical roadside awareness campaigns. Campaigns that typically have a lot of waste looking at media effectiveness. By rethinking the iconic Jupiler beer glass and in doing so turning it into our medium and message at the same time. It allowed us to reach exactly the audience we wanted to reach, in exactly the right moment. In bars, right at the time and place of consumption.

Jupiler is the biggest beer brand in the land of beers: Belgium. Unfortunately, Belgium is also the land of drinking and driving. Clearly, the many drinking and driving campaigns in the past have made almost no impact. After years of such campaigns Belgium still has one of the worst drinking and driving records in Europe, with 1 in 3 Belgians admitting they have driven under the influence in 2022. Jupiler wanted to leverage its big reach and popularity to make an impact and become a part of the solution. Since the long term objective is zero alcohol related deaths on the road, we needed to take a first step in that direction.

Everyone knows the Belgian beer culture is very strong. Within this beer culture, Jupiler takes a central role. With a 40% market share of beer in the land of beers, Jupiler is almost a synonym for Belgium. It is the default beer for anyone entering a bar, and the main sponsor of the Belgian national football team, the red devils.

Closely linked to Belgium’s beer culture, is also a beer glass culture. Belgian know their beer glasses, especially the Jupiler glass, the most familiar and iconic of all. So rethinking an object so closely linked to the Jupiler brand, definitely raised some eyebrows.

We turned the Jupiler glass, the most iconic beer glass in the country of beer, into the crashed glass. A glass made from the shattered glass windows of cars involved in alcohol-related road accidents. With an important message: “Cars can get a second life. Humans can’t. Made from the crashed car of a drunk driver.” The glasses were distributed in bars across the country to reach beer drinkers at the place and time where they are most vulnerable to making a fatal mistake. At that place and time, the crashed glass shows the consequences of drunk driving, served cold. The crashed glass was distributed in bars nationwide. Serving as a behavior-changing device every time it is served.

Our strategy was all about reaching the right audience, at the right time, at the right place.

Classical roadside awareness campaigns for drunk driving don't get this right. Sure, on the road we see the devastating consequences of driving under influence. But the actual cause of the problem is situated somewhere else: in the bar. By serving our message – the crashed glass – to customers who had just ordered a beer, we succeeded in getting audience, time and place exactly right. Especially by focussing on bars next to busy and dangerous roads.

The crashed glass was launched in march 2023, with a nationwide campaign. The crashed glasses travelled to bars across the country. In each bar they were used by bartenders when customers ordered their regular beer. They immediately grabbed the attention of customers, causing them to take in the message printed on the glasses: "Cars can get a second life, humans can't. Made from the crashed car of a drunk driver”. Following the success of this approach, bar owners nationwide decided to use these glasses permanently in their bar, to inspire a change in behavior for years to come.

- Earned reach: 2.4 million people

- Sales volume Jupiler 0.0% during campaign: +15.4% year-over-year growth

Yes, like any beer brand, Jupiler is about selling beer. But not at all costs. Jupiler’s brand purpose is about uniting Belgians and fostering camaraderie. And camaraderie in its essence means: caring for and looking after each other. That also means changing bad behavior that might be harmful for Belgians. Jupiler wanted to take its social responsibility and unite all behind a zero tolerance attitude when it comes to drunk driving.