The case of the missing beer

Building on its La Dolce Vita essence, Peron phased its activities over the four-day event, beginning with a staged “burglary”.

The arrival of a sleek black limousine, escorted by Italian police motorcycles, turned heads at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, where SA Fashion Week was held. A stylish detective, flanked by his entourage bodyguards, emerged from the limo to escort a bottle of Peroni – protected in a slim briefcase handcuffed to the detective – to the Peroni stand where it was secured in a heavily chained fridge.

The next day, a cat burglar abseiled her way down the Michelangelo Office Towers and sneaked into the convention centre, cut through the fridge chains and made off with the bottle.

Crime show inspiration

Drawing on the inspiration of popular crime shows such as CSI, the following day saw Italian police officers and forensic analysts investigating the case of the missing Peroni. The pressure was on for the mystery to be solved, with little time before the Fashion in the Street event that evening.

Lee-Ann Botha, Peroni's brand manager, said that Peroni encapsulates excitement, luxury and exclusive style. “Our brand activations reflect this in every way and we really wanted to create a build-up of buzz around Peroni's involvement in the Fashion in the Street element of SA Fashion Week. The ultimate goal of the campaign was to create awareness of the brand by grabbing the attention and imagination of the public. The storyline ensured audience participation and held their interest for the duration of the campaign”

To bring the Peroni mystery to a close, guests at Fashion in the Street were stunned when the detective and the cat burglar arrived together on stage. The burglar removed the mask to reveal a beautiful woman and together the two escorted the Peroni bottle back to the stand and to its place of honour. At that moment, the lights flashed and the music for the fashion show began: Peroni had arrived.