LePub and Heineken celebrate all cultures for the International Beer Day with an emotive message

This International Beer Day (August 2nd), Heineken and LePub have created Forgotten Beer, an emotive ad with an unexpected message: that you can forget about the beer; instead, the brewer wants you to focus on having a good time together.

“Want to grab a beer? ¿Te apetece una cerveza? On va boire une bière?” – recognised the world over as a ”catch all phrase” for getting together, Heineken doesn’t mind if in the end you forget about the beer; as long as you are prioritising socialising.

With sociability at Heineken’s core, celebrating these moments is more important to the brand than the beer itself; after all, Freddy Heineken himself said: “I don’t sell beer, I sell gezelligheid” (a famous Dutch phrase meaning ‘the feeling of good times’).

“On International Beer Day, we truly get to show what the Heineken brand stands for – good times together! Of course, we celebrate our beer but what we’re most proud of is 150 years of bringing people together, something that will remain at our core for as long as we continue to produce beer. Cheers!” said in a press release Dolf van den Brink, CEO of Heineken.

To bring this brand purpose to life, the iconic brewer has created an advert, launched on International Beer Day; that showcases how ‘forgotten beers’ on the periphery of parties, football matches celebrations or get togethers in bars, demonstrate that good times are being had. Soundtracked to Debussy’s Claire de Lune, the powerful ad shows that the best part of having a beer isn’t actually the beer itself.

“International Beer Day brings the world together, celebrating the beers of all cultures on one remarkable day. This occasion was perfect for Heineken to show once again the brands’ always-unique point of view. In fact, the campaign is an ode to good times and happiness all portrayed through the lenses of those ‘forgotten’ beers that are left behind to give space to the deliciousness of togetherness, quality socializing and friendly moments,” noted Bruno Bertelli, Global CEO LePub, CCO Publicis Worldwide.

With factors like digital overload and longer working hours increasingly affecting our social lives, making sure we come together for good times is now more important than ever. A recent study (Gallup and Meta: “The Global State of Social Connections”) found nearly a quarter (24%) of the global population feels “very” or “fairly” lonely, while 6% do not feel connected “at all” to others, equating to about one in every 20 people worldwide.

Heineken has a rich history of tackling the enemies of socialisation. Earlier this year, the brand launched The Boring Phone, with no access to the internet, social media, or other apps, to help people discover there is more to their social life when there is less on their phone, as research revealed 90% of people admit to habitually scrolling on nights out. While back in 2022, the brewer created The Closer, a high-tech bottle opener that used technology to close your work apps the moment you pop the lid off a Heineken.

Watch video of Forgotten Beers