South Africa’s abuse rate is 5 times higher than the global average. These rates spike after football games, and the number 1 excuse is alcohol. As SA’s biggest beer brand, Carling Black Label decided to go from the no.1 excuse for women abuse, to the no.1 champion against it.

Widely known as the masculine brand for real men, Carling set out to use their influence over South African males to change their attitudes around GBV by spreading the word that there is #NoExcuse for women abuse. And the excuses being banished aren’t just those of the abusers, but of bystanders too. We needed not just to put out a message, but to create real change. So, we targeted men in their natural environments, worked with their heroes to light the way forward, and partnered with government to create change at the highest level.

Because abuse rates spike after big soccer matches, we targeted the biggest soccer event of the year and leveraged our sponsorship of the country’s two largest football teams to share a message that couldn’t go unheard. We had a choir of mothers and daughters enter the field just before kick-off and hijack SA’s national football anthem. Half way through, our choir changed the lyrics to highlight the issue of women abuse.

People took our message to the streets and marched to parliament. We responded by changing our iconic packaging and partnering with government to set up a special parliament to tackle GBV.

The non-traditional platform helped us not only to talk directly to a sold-out stadium full of beer-drinking men, but with the game being highly televised, and our unconventional and surprising message being shared, we reached a greater audience than the 2010 World Cup Football opening ceremony and match.

The non-traditional platform helped us not only to talk directly to a sold-out stadium full of beer-drinking men, but with the game being highly televised, and our unconventional and surprising message being shared, we reached a greater audience than the 2010 World Cup Football opening ceremony and match.

Brand mentions increased by 823%, we received earned media to the value of R31.8 million, 415 million impressions, and a total reach of 45 million. Drogba even gave us a shout out on Twitter.

The #NoExcuse campaign is now rolling out in 5 other countries, and the special parliament we helped to form to tackle the issue, continues to debate GBV legislation.