In the 2021 Pilsner Urquell TV spot it is presented in a way that is easily digestible for a younger target audience continuing the communication direction built on the brand's century-old traditions

The advertisement was brought to life by the collaboration of McCann Prague and McCann Manchester and continues with the slogan „Nothing beats the original,” which was introduced last year. (I feel that the original English version is stronger; for some reason, the Hungarian translation took a slightly compromise approach). Last year, they already filmed an advertisement along the same concept, focusing on Louis Armstrong's hit ’What a Wonderful World.’ The previous version had a slower, more emotional, nostalgic tone. The new film operates with a much fresher song and performer, Robbie Williams’ song (’Let Me Entertain You") exudes a more upbeat and youthful vibe.

Source: facebook, Armada Films

Pilsner Urquell: the world's first pilsner beer

The story and dynamics are the same in both advertisements: we see cuts from various amateur/tribute performances, with the song progressing, and the original performer arrives at the chorus, making it clear that karaoke is a beautiful thing, but every piece sounds best in its original version.

In terms of music industry analogy, the brand has the unique selling proposition that Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pilsner beer and they also launched this bottom-fermented type on its world-conquering journey, which has escalated to the point where this type now accounts for seventy percent of global beer consumption.

The formula is therefore simple: it is a beautiful thing to pay homage, and anyone can honestly sing a famous song, but just as a hit will always be the real deal in the original artist's performance, a good pilsner lager will always be the most flavorful based on the recipe of the genre's original inventor.

 

The original and the imitators

It is important to highlight that the advertisement does not attack or portray the „imitators,” in this case, its own market competitors, in a negative light, as the tribute products may sometimes sound a bit off, sometimes better, sometimes less so (one of the karaoke singers does lose their voice during the verse), but they certainly do not make their performers the subject of mockery. They simply create the impression of enthusiastic amateurs who – especially after a few drinks – can find their target audience at weddings, corporate parties, and the local karaoke bar. From these occasions, further emphasizing the amateur feeling, we see hobby camcorder and phone-recorded footage, which is then contrasted by the chorus arriving in Robbie's crystal-clear voice, performed in front of stunning, colorful concert decorations, all in Ultra HD quality. The footage, by the way, comes from a mega concert in Bucharest five years ago, assisted by sixty thousand wildly cheering fans.

Source: bestadsontv.com

Overall, the advertisement simultaneously acknowledges (seemingly) the role of its competitors in the market (not everyone usually does this, just think of the boy standing on Coca-Cola boxes reaching for the Pepsi button many years ago), but at the same time, it extremely cleverly suggests a huge quality difference in its favor.

After all, if it could, it would rather blast out the Let me entertain you upbeat melody in the performance of the local baker in the village cultural center's ballroom, while being able to party with tens of thousands of people, enhanced by ultra-modern sound technology in the interpretation of the song's original performer, a world-famous megastar. See?

The cleverness lies in the fact that while not every Robbie fan can afford the extremely expensive ticket costing tens of thousands of forints, they can take the ”same” premium original lifestyle off the middle shelf at Tesco for just 299 forints, where the competing imitator is only 10 forints cheaper (if it is cheaper at all).

 

„The original Pilsner”

The message comes through, the story works, but halfway through the advertisement, we still do not know which brand's film this is and we do not even know that it is about beer at all. This could actually be a double-edged sword, as due to the lack of branding, many only remember the advertisement itself, but less so who it belongs to...

However, from the moment the iconic singer and the professional image quality arrive, the headline pops up, the editing speeds up, and the director also brilliantly achieves that the quality perception characteristic of Pilsner is also shown. In just over ten seconds, the advertisement makes up for the previous lack of branding: when the trombone solo comes in, we get a mandatory beauty shot (showing the product in a poured form true to the premium brand), then quick cuts lead us through the centuries-old traditions and show us the journey of the beer, as it comes from the hop fields, carefully crafted by the brewmaster's hands, and finally arrives in our mug, from which we can then take a delicious sip in the company of our friends at our favorite pub.

What I am missing is nothing other than the mouthful of key information that underpins the slogan, meaning that until I read up on it, even as a beer lover, I was not necessarily aware of the fact that they were indeed the first on the market and ”invented” this type of beer. They could have emphasized this further, as the added „The original Pilsner” slogan at the very end is still too little for me from an educational perspective.

 

A jab at the competition

In my opinion, while Louis Armstrong (although his song is timeless and plays in numerous films) clearly resonates more with the older generation, Robbie Williams is a star who, although he has been a prominent figure in the music industry for over 30 years, is not necessarily considered outdated by today's twenty-somethings (adding that he may already be past his peak) and during his most recent performance in Budapest in 2017, he nearly moved twenty-five thousand people.

In summary, it can be said that, as I hinted in the title, the advertisement successfully managed to present the brand's traditionally characteristic communication style, based on centuries-old traditions and the „everything was better back then” approach, in a trendier and, not least, attention-grabbing guise aimed at a likely younger demographic than before.

Hum-along, ”you'll immediately perk up” music, humor, a jab at the competitors, and the usual circles with traditions, everything is in its place.