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.

At the biggest soccer event of the season, we brought together the country’s two most rivalrous teams in support of our fight against GBV. We then hijacked the fan’s national soccer anthem and unexpectedly changed the lyrics to highlight the issue of women abuse. By doing this, we leveraged both our influence and that of the country’s favourite football clubs to ensure that our message was not only heard, but shared and supported.

Carling Black Label has been speaking to men for decades. They’re known for being the manly beer for real men. We used our status as the beacon of masculinity in order to challenge it and redefine its meaning to exclude the abuse and mistreatment of women.

Carling’s research found that abuse rates spike after big soccer matches, where tension is high and much alcohol is consumed. So, we leveraged our sponsorship of the largest soccer event of the season, and the two largest football clubs, to bring this idea to life and ensure its effectiveness.

With a full stadium of men drinking our product, and their idols agreeing to support us fully (they even sported our campaign logo on their kit), this was the ideal platform for us to take responsibility and share a message with men that they could take home with them after the all-important game.

Gender-based violence is currently a hot topic in the media and has been a growing social issue in South Africa. Despite constitutional protections, gender-based violence remains persistent and widespread in South Africa. Carling Black Label as a brand thus recognised the need to acknowledge that alcohol can be part of the problem and took the opportunity to challenge how society, specifically men, react to violence against women.

Society’s become desensitized to women abuse, and as the largest beer brand in the country, Carling used its status as a beacon of masculinity to challenge South African men and its consumers to take action.

Many South Africans have grown up in abusive homes where resorting to violence is acceptable, but Carling believes that there is never any excuse for women abuse, or turning a blind eye to it. We needed to spread Carling’s message and shift people’s view on the issue.