Monteith’s Brewing Co. wanted cider drinkers to know that their cider contains freshly crushed fruit, not concentrated fruit syrup like their competitors. In a rapidly growing and cluttered cider market, this ‘not from concentrate’ proposition was a point of difference Monteith’s were keen to own.

The twigged boxes got Monteith’s all over the news and across social media. Radio stations took calls from drinkers who had found twigs in their cider packaging. Monteith’s call centre was inundated with enquiries. Over the campaign period, Monteith’s Crushed Cider sales increased by 32%, the campaign generated earned media 50 times our PR budget and Monteith’s completely sold out of their 12 pack cider.

Real twigs from Monteith’s orchards were slipped into the packaging of Crushed Apple cider and Crushed Pear cider 12 packs before they were distributed to liquor stores and supermarkets.

After two weeks, and with public interest at its peak, a carefully crafted apology was published in the paper. Apologies also appeared in the form of patched billboards, online banners and on-pack stickers. Every apology became the perfect platform to spread our simple message: the fruit in Monteith’s cider comes from a tree, not out of a can.

Companies go to great lengths to avoid faults in their products. We went to great lengths to create one. By defying marketing logic, and actually sabotaging the very product we were trying to sell, we were able to tell our fresh fruit message in a new, compelling way.