Not that Newlands: Local beer brand pulls a fast one on the Aussies

4 Apr 2018

One of South Africa's biggest sporting rivals, the Aussies, recently endorsed a proudly South African beer brand, Newlands Spring Brewing Co., without even realising it.

"While doing some pre-campaign research, we tried looking Newlands up in Google Maps, where more than one popped up. And when one was in Australia, we thought 'well this could be wonderfully confusing,'" says Jared Osmond, creative group head at King James Group.

This presented the team at the Newlands Spring Brewing Co. with a sneaky opportunity they couldn’t resist.

“What better way to prove just how great our beer is than to ask our nation’s biggest rivals to tell us? And tell us they did. Sure, we may have conveniently forgotten to mention which Newlands the beer really came from, but that didn’t stop the Aussies from enjoying every last sip,” says Nico Stone, brand manager at Newlands Spring Brewing Co.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, but the reaction when the Aussies were told that their new favourite beer was brewed in Newlands, South Africa and not Newlands, Australia, was priceless.