To create an association between Steinlager and the Rugby World Cup, when legally the brand was not allowed to have any association. Traditionally Steinlager had enjoyed a long partnership with rugby in the country, but this year archrival Heineken had been named as official sponsor. In this big beer drinking occasion for the target audience of NZ males 18-49, Steinlager needed to ensure people were reaching for their brand, over the flashier, foreign official sponsor with deeper pockets.

The last time NZ won the World Cup was 1987 and back then, Steinlager’s iconic white can was in the hands of many celebrating. We drew on this heritage and brought back the white can design from ‘87, promoting it as a lucky charm from the last time we won.

The cans launched with TV, online and print creating the story of a man saving his white can from ’87, for the next time the All Blacks won. Consumers were encouraged to get their own lucky charm white cans, then driven online to our facebook app to show they were saving one for the win.

The last time NZ won the World Cup was 1987 and back then, Steinlager’s iconic white can was in the hands of many celebrating. We drew on this heritage and brought back the white can design from ‘87, promoting it as a lucky charm from the last time we won.

The cans launched with TV, online and print creating the story of a man saving his white can from ’87, for the next time the All Blacks won. Consumers were encouraged to get their own lucky charm white cans, then driven online to our facebook app to show they were saving one for the win.

We gave New Zealanders an emotive reason to go for the home brew that was under fire from a global competitor. We leveraged our home advantage and drew on the established relationship we had with the team and the country, and showed New Zealanders that if they were true supporters of our team, they’d go for Steinlager.