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Labatt Breweries of Canada - Keith's India Pale Ale

Keith's is the number-one beer in Eastern Canada with a dominant 30% share in its home market. Recently Keith's expanded across Canada, introducing the brand to new consumers unaware of its history, pedigree or credentials. The goal was to create a new campaign for Keith's that remained rooted in the product attributes and tradition of the brand but was also entertaining.

The basic human truth behind the advertising was that specialty beer drinkers expected more of their beer than just being the popular choice. Keith's history and brewing credentials offered drinkers more reasons to be proud of their choice than any other Canadian beer brand.

This notion of pride also worked extremely well in the home market of Eastern Canada. The idea came out of the fact that Alexander Keith's was the real deal when it came to beer, with a brewing heritage dating back to 1820, a rich history and legend centred on brewmaster Alexander Keith himself.

The TV creative centred on a character that embodied the ultimate pride drinkers felt for Alexander Keith's. "Maritime Man" was so passionate about the beer that he went out of his way to educate people on the proper etiquette required when drinking Keith's. The agency was a bit surprised by the onslaught of Scottish accents in other campaigns. Unlike some of these where the Scottish accent is used for comedic purposes only, in this case it was fundamental to highlighting the brand's Nova Scotian heritage.

This campaign was fully integrated, including TV, radio, and print (the print was designed specifically for Eastern Canada). The result was that Keith's is the fastest growing beer in Canada, and the number-one domestic specialty brand in Canada. Keith's' ad awareness in Ontario quadrupled after the launch of the campaign, and the brand reversed several years of market decline on the East Coast where it is enjoying its best performance in almost five years.

TELEVISION

Funeral	Label Peeler
Spilly Talker

RADIO

209th Birthday Song

Christmas

PRINT

1843	Breton
Compass	History
Iron