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October 2007 - Strategy Magazine
Creative

Carling mates value with happy couples

by Annette Bourdeau
page 12

While its competitors are showing guys getting girls, Carling is presenting men keeping their women happy.

The new "Carling is for caring" positioning, by Taxi Toronto, differentiates the value brand by depicting guys justifying their beer spend by showing their partners how cheap it is. One "slogan" featured in the ads is "money saved is money earned," with a dude reassuring his lady that by buying Carling he's investing in their future together.

"The strategic idea was to give it more benefit than just a buck-a-beer brand," says Ron Smrczek, ACD at Taxi. "People are becoming a bit more savvy to the buck-a-beer messaging - they know it's not just about price anymore, it's about quality, too."

The campaign, which includes radio, OOH and guerrilla efforts, has been rolling out across Manitoba - where the brand is very popular - and Ontario.

In August, a street team took over Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium during a Tiger-Cats game, with "couples" marching through the aisles and parking lot holding placards with slogans like: "He chose us when he chose Carling" and "His beer savings = our future." The street team handed out buttons and T-shirts with the slogans, as well as pamphlets called HUG (Helpful Users' Guide), about how to "help her understand your choice."

Credits:

client: Jamie Sprules, brand manager; Andrea Bowie, brand manager, Carling, Molson Canada

agency: Taxi

ECD: Zak Mroueh

ACD: Ron Smrczek

AD/designer: Nathan Monteith

copywriter: Stefan Wegner

photographer: Frank Hoedl

illustrator: Andrew O'Driscoll

agency print producer: Mark Prole

account directors: Barry Teplicky/Shelley Raymond

account manager: Anna Halfpenny

agency planner: Maxine Thomas

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