To position Speight’s as “The stuff of legends” we created a legend of our own.We learned that New Zealanders in the UK were missing their favourite beer. So a working Speight’s Alehouse was strapped to the deck of a cargo ship and sailed across the world to London’s Canary Wharf, much to the delight of the city’s sizable Kiwi population and the loyal drinkers back in New Zealand. The crew of the ship was recruited in a national campaign. The voyage received over 20 minutes of prime time national television news coverage and extensive press reports.

In the presence of television news cameras, a crowd of proud New Zealanders and some teary-eyed girlfriends, the ship (with working pub on board) was launched from Dunedin. A satellite link connected live feeds of the action on the boat to a dedicated website during its 16 week voyage. Partnership with New Zealand’s only nightly primetime sports programme and NZ’s biggest radio network provided weekly coverage of all the action. The arrival in London drew another crowd, more news coverage and was the triumphant end to a dedicated documentary on Sky TV.

Speight’s regained its position as New Zealand’s biggest selling beer.6% of all New Zealand men applied online to accompany the working Speight’s Alehouse on its journey to London.

A double-digit increase in Brand Adoration was achieved whilst all other mainstream beers declined.