WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

South African Breweries, Bottoms Up

Members:

A young woman alone at a bar notices an attractive man near her and tries to flirt with him. Then he is approached by another man who squeezes his rear, then hugs and kisses him (the view is obscured and shot from behind). The man looks back at the woman with the fellow who just joined him, and she raises her glass to them and smiles at her misunderstanding.

The ad was the result of research by South African Breweries and it tested well in focus groups.

A spokeswoman for the company describes the ad this way, "What defines today's woman is attitude. Attitude towards herself, attitude towards her life and attitude towards her world. She is defined by who she is and what she represents -- her inner strength, her individuality, her spirit. We define this woman as having 'Appletude.'

In a clear role reversal our Appletude woman is doing what men often do and is taking the initiative and ogling the guys. She clearly is confident and
enjoying her own company. We see her reaction as the different guys don't measure up to her standards and she finally spots a guy who looks quite cute.

As she gives him the once over, she is taken back when his 'friend' arrives and it is clear that they are much more than friends. Instead of feeling rejected, she composes herself.

She is a real Appletude woman -- her confidence is unshaken by this incident, as she realizes 'you win some, you lose some.' Single women in this age group agree that this is a very common occurrence in their social scene. It often leads to scenes of either extreme discomfort or hilarity, depending on how the woman handles the situation."

The storyline is very similar to one for Miller Lite in the U.S. Gay male couples increasingly show open affection in straight bars, however unlikely that is in reality.

User Comments
Erick
I like this ad much better than the Miller Lite commercial. This one is definitely a lot more positive. The woman doesn't make any sarcastic comments to end the commercial.

Anders Engebråten
This is a great ad, but it reminds me very much of another soft-drink commercial; the Norwegian sodabrand Solo's 1995 campaign with similar storyline and outcome. Still, it's a great commercial that forces a smile out of you!

Jim
This ad is just too cool. We need a lot more like this one...but only if they can be shown at times to reach a large audience.