Black beer has, up until now, been very traditional, for the older man, with a predominantly rural guise. However, Castle Milk Stout has been repositioned and with the new TV ad will be presented to the urban man between the ages of 25 and 49, as a beer to sip slowly and to savour.
"The new TVC explains the reason for the beer being black, that is, the malt is dark roasted before it is brewed. Italso aims to romance the black liquid before a new target audience - urban man who enjoys the good things in life, has a sense of style and savours his time with friends in a stylish environment, " says Paul Binikos Executive Director MetropolitanRepublic.
The production company, The Vision Corporation (TVC), made use of various shooting techniques to freeze moments in time. The set consisted of a bar with a beautiful, textured ambience that reflects a chilled and laid-back environment. As the camera moves across the set, the characters are frozen in a moment of laughter or in the midst of a serious conversation. Moments in time were visually captured with appealing shots that demonstrate the savouring of a memory, a conversation, a humorous instant.
The team aspired to create a TV commercial that illustrates Castle Milk Stout as something desirable, without glamourising the product. It needed to be credible. "The style of the commercial is such that it brings Castle Milk Stout to the foreground. It's a challenger brand, and at MetropolitanRepublic, we enjoy, and seek out, challenger brands. Everything about the commercial shows a matter of taste. The wardrobe is relaxed with tweed jackets and fedoras. The people feel real and just like the beer, we wanted to portray them as not trying to be something they're not," says Paul Warner, Founder and Creative Director MetropolitanRepublic.
Daniel Tucker, Communications Marketing Manager for Castle Milk Stout explains that the beer has become a priority brand for SAB. "The target audience has shifted from traditional, older and cultural, to a younger, more urban consumer. The aim is to get consumers toconsider the beer, as once they do, they are captured by the beer's velvety smooth and creamy taste. The dark roasted malt offers an intense taste experience, which consumers realise is perfect for savouring, while they slow down to live in the moments that really matter to them"
The Castle Milk Stout pouring shot brings out the colour and texture of the beer, with a visual beauty that is important in creating a strong taste appeal for the liquid. Producer Nicola Martin of MetropolitanRepublic says, "In the TV commercial we wanted to reflect the texture of the beer. It is different from other beer commercials as it is unique in its look-and-feels. The colours, direction and storyline create a commercial that is very appealing."
The choice of director was also key. "We carefully considered the right director and Giaco Angelini has a great passion for shooting beer commercials and, at the same time, is great at collobarating and creating the right look for a commercial," says Martin.
"At MetropolitanRepublic we enjoy taking brands and turning them into hot talking points. We ensure that we always have our fingers on the pulse and check the metaphorical temperature of our environment and the brand's environment. For example, we discovered that the Ndebele jerseys designed by Laduma Ngxokolo so we feature two of them in the Castle Milk Stout commercial, we believe they might just be the next best thing," concludes Binikos.
The Castle Milk Stout TVC started flighting across various channels on 23 April.
